In the middle of the beginning
by Shadows of Darkness
Summary: It was the end. Everything she believed in was crushed before her very eyes. But Sakura gets a second chance to live her life. Will she succeed in it or will she die trying? TT fic
1. Secret revealed

_**Hello everybody!! This is my first fiction, so don't be hard on me plz. Oh, and enjoy**_

* * *

The atmosphere was peaceful and quite. The sky was clear with bright stars and even brighter moon. And the only word to describe the night was beautiful. However, a dark cloud that was looming nearby started to block the view. It was a smoke coming from a burning village. The gates of the said village were broken down as if they were forced open and on those gates was drawn a once proud symbol of fire. Beyond them the sight was horrible, houses burned, dead bodies were scattered everywhere and the great five Hokage's faces on the mountain had been blown up to pieces.

Somebody stood not far from the village gates. He was not a boy but not yet a man. His blazing red eyes were full of emotions: hatred for Akatsuki and Sound for destroying Konoha, anger at himself for letting everybody die, but the strongest one was loneliness. His friends, no his _family_ was dead. The Hokage gave him direct order to flee the village and hide. In response, he tried to protest but Tsunade threatened to strip him of his ninja ranks. He regretted that decision, if he knew that it would turn out like this he would have stayed no matter what.

Now, there was nothing he could do to help the village_. I must get out of here. Those damn Akatsuki bastards are still here, somewhere. But where should I go? Many villages gave into Akatsuki and others were destroyed. Maybe Suna … no it was the first to fall. I can't let them capture me and if they do-_ his thoughts were interrupted when he heard his name being called. The shinoby looked around and spotted somebody coming out of the forest. He immediately recognized the person.

"SAKURA-CHAN!!" The said kunoichi was limping up to him with great difficulty. Naruto ran up to Sakura and helped her to sit down with her back against a tree. He felt uneasy because he couldn't even feel her chakra at this proximity.

"Sakura-chan! Are you alright?" asked Naruto. But he himself could tell by just looking at her. Sakura was covered in gashes, her clothes torn to shreds; one of her forearms was broken in two places and she was covered with blood from head to toe. But Naruto knew that this wouldn't have bothered the Haruno Sakura he knew and that meant her insides were even more messed up.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. I just need a little rest, that's all" Sakura said trying to hide her obvious pain. There was a little wind blowing from the village but it carried the stench of rotting bodies and smoke. The two shinobys ignored the smell; it was nothing new to them.

"Sakura-chan, why are you here? You should have had the same orders as me to leave the village?" Naruto asked her but then noticed his mistake.

"What do you mean? Nobody except Tsunade-sama and Jiraya-sama knew that!!" Sakura asked in anger or more like hissed. Naruto felt chill go up and down his spine.

"Sakura-chan" Naruto made a serious face. "I know"

"But … how?" Sakura was angry at herself. _I was hiding __**it**__ so well. But apparently that was not good enough_ She thought bitterly. But then she remembered something. "So, it was _you_." Naruto nodded.

_**: Flashback :**_

The sun was setting in Konoha and children were ushered by their parents to return home. 17 year old Naruto was watching all this with a sad smile. He just came back from C-rank mission and was going to the Hokage to give her the report. He wasn't in any rush so he walked the rest of the way.

_That's strange. I know the village is big but I should have met somebody I know by now._ He didn't ponder on that thought for long because he reached the Tower. He walked up the stairs and saw all of his friends coming out of the Hokage's office. Naruto ran up to them.

"Hey, why is everybody here?" he was looking at their faces. Nobody met his gaze and he started to feel that something was wrong because Kakashi was not reading his book.

"Naruto", finally said Kakashi "The next Great Shinoby war is about to start. Sound declared war against us but not only them. The Cloud and Rock allied with Sound and … things are not looking good for us Naruto. We must get prepared." Naruto was shocked; he didn't know what to say.

"N-N-Naruto-kun, w-e sh-ould b-better get g-going" stuttered Hinata. After all these years she still had a crush on him. Naruto found about it when Sakura punched it into his skull, literally. And then he realized something.

"Where is Sakura-chan?" He knew that Sakura was always the first to get there if something happened.

"She is discussing things with Hokage-sama and Jiraya-sama" said Neji "like Hinata-sama said, we should better be going. I don't want to disturb them"

"He he. I have to give my report. I'll just wait for them to finish" Naruto grinned at them and scratched the back of his head.

"Do whatever you want" said Shikamaru then mumbled something that suspiciously sounded like "troublesome" while making his way to the stairs. Everybody else followed suit. Naruto stayed behind and was going sit on the chair when he heard Tsunade's scream.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!!" Naruto almost fell when he heard that. He caught himself just in time and sighed. There was furious talking inside and he got little curious. _Well, a little peek wouldn't hurt._ Naruto hid his chakra and carefully went up to the door and noticed that it was blocked by chakra. Fortunately, it was Jiraya's and Naruto knew exactly how to make a crack in his sensei's chakra without being noticed.

* * *

Tsunade was sitting behind the table while massaging her temples. Jiraya was staring out the window. And Sakura was standing few feet away from the table with an unreadable expression.

"How could this have happened? I thought Akatsuki was laying low until the war was over before making their move" said Tsunade frustrated. Her eyes closed and brows furrowed.

"Akatsuki is very devious. They can make people believe what they want them to" a pause "And it seems they did a little research on Sakura's background" said Jiraya still looking out the window and finally turned around to face Sakura. "I think it is time for you to tell us everything. There is no need for you to hide it anymore."

"Yes. It seems" said Sakura passively with a cool voice. "However, Jiraya-sama, you talk like you know more than I do. Why don't _you_ tell _me._" Jiraya couldn't tell if it was dripping with sarcasm or not and he let it go with a sigh.

"Very well. I guess I can't help it" Jiraya cleared his throat and started "Akatsuki had been last spotted in the Demon country and on my way there I stumbled over something interesting" said the Toad Sannin pausing to look at their faces. Tsunade was getting impatient but Sakura was looking at him with a cold glare. Jiraya shuddered and continued. "It was an abandoned mansion. I went inside and found these scrolls after a week of exploring. I am sure that Akatsuki was there and already knows about the powerful clan that used to live at that place" he put down two scrolls in front of Tsunade. One was pure white but had a dangerous aura around it and the other was red with strange black markings. "The clan's name was Tsuki but nobody knows about their kekkei genkai. They were very secretive about themselves but twelve years ago they were all massacred. That was the only information I could get. But, Sakura, it was the same time you were found and brought to Konoha, am I right?"

Sakura nodded calmly "I don't know how you found out about my adoption. But, Jiraya-sama, I see a flaw in what your trying to imply. Many others were too brought here at that time, _am I right_." She stretched the last part and made it sound more like a statement. Jiraya was looking at her with confusion. _Was I that obvious? _

Sakura finally said "Yes. I know that I am a Tsuki but I am not proud of it" before Tsunade and Jiraya could ask any question she continued "I was the one who killed all of them. I, acidentally activated my kekkei genkai and because I was too young I couldn't control it." Sakura paused and smiled "For a five year old silly little girl to activate the final stage of that kekkei genkai, it is just too funny" she said while laughing bitterly. "And now, Akatsuki wants my kekkei genkai. My life can't get more fucked up." Her laugh made Jiraya's blood turn cold. But strangely Tsunade didn't seem to be affected by it.

"Sakura. If Akatsuki is after you, we need to keep you safe. Who knows what will happen if they get their hands on that bloodline limit" suddenly said Tsunade after being quiet for the most of the time. Sakura stopped laughing and looked straight into Tsunade's eyes.

"I can't change your decision, can I?" asked Sakura. But Tsunade stayed quiet. Sakura didn't wait for any response and walked up to the table. She had a strange sensation like the scrolls were calling for her, warmth from it caressing her like a mother's gentle touch. The kunoichi picked them up and suddenly felt like big hole in her was finally filled. Already knowing that scrolls were for her, she put them in her vest's pouches.

"Sakura. You know that my appearance is illusion and I always had a feeling like… how should I say it… like you too are using an illusion", Tsunade said studying her apprentice closely. "I looked over your profile and there said that even before you became genin, you were very low on chakra. I know you have much chakra reserves now but still even when you rest it lowers." That got Jiraya's attention.

"Your suspicion's right. I _am_ concealing myself because my-" Sakura caught herself and paused "Lets just say that I have…_unique_…appearance and I don't want much attention on myself." Tsunade and Jiraya were looking at her strangely. "I know your wondering why pink hair. But let me explain myself. This genjutsu is very special. I can change my body physically and also my voice that way you would be completely different person. It is like modified henge but with this you can change your personality, the way you think and act. You don't even have to worry about accidentally slipping. Other people, except the ones who are specialized in genjutsu like Kurenai-sensei, can't sense it at all. However, there is one downfall, the jutsu has limits and that's why my hair is pink. My hair color only darkened a bit. I originally intended to make it black."

"Wait, your hair only darkened? That means you have blond hair?" asked Jiraya, trying to imagine her with blond hair.

Sakura smirked "It's for me to know and for you to find out." Jiraya snorted but didn't say anything.

"Sakura, can you disclose us the information about your kekkei genkai?" Tsunade was staring at Sakura with same cold glare but her expression said 'Defy me and die'. Jiraya sweat dropped. _Now I know why I was scared of that girl,_ _I forgot for a moment that she was Tsunade-hime's apprentice. _

"I don't know it myself. I always tried to suppress those memories and I think I forgot everything overtime. I started to have nightmares about the massacre, after I turned 15." Tsunade tried to see if her apprentice was lying and then seemed to be satisfied and let it go.

"Then answer this question. How much chakra do you need to cast your genjutsu and keep it up?" asked Jiraya.

"The main concern is how much chakra you have. When I was young, it took 60 percent of my chakra to cast it and 30 percent to keep it up for one day"

"When I think about it, your academy teachers said in reports that they barely felt your chakra. And when you were 12, Kakashi said you only had half as much of average genin's chakra supplies. Now your supply is same as an average Jounin and you're still keeping up the genjutsu" Tsunade mused "Sakura, how much chakra do you need to keep up your genjutsu now?"

"It takes only 10 percent less chakra than it did before" said Sakura truthfully.

"It's 80 percent. But you said when you were young it took 90 percent" asked Tsunade.

"That's why I said that this jutsu is special. When I grow while still using it, the jutsu will grow with me. And my appearance will grow up by itself like it's a real person and by then the appearance would be out of my control to change it the way I like it" explained Sakura.

"How can you still have this much chakra even when you're using the jutsu right now?" asked Jiraya "And if you let the genjutsu drop, your strenght and stamina will …" he didn't continue because they knew.

"Sakura, you were hiding your true potential all this time" stated Tsunade "I took you as my apprentice because you had potential to become a medicnin and I thought I could also train you in arts of taijutsu. But what really caught my attention is your desire to be acknowledged. At that time, I thought you needed to become stronger but now I understand" Tsunade sighed "You wanted to do things with your own strength not with your bloodline. You didn't want to be like Uchiha or Hyuuga, who only relies on their kekkei genkai and their name"

"Tsunade-shihou, you know me too well or should I say my fake personality" said Sakura without a hint of regret saying that and then turned to the door. Tsunade's fists clenched so hard that the blood was dripping but her face remained straight. Jiraya saw the red thick liquid and didn't say anything knowing that Tsunade was anything but calm inside. The Hokage lowered her gaze to the table; staring at nothing particularly. _I admit that I, the legendary slug Sannin, am afraid. If Sakura stops using the illusion, the girl that I love like my own daughter will disappear and I fear that greatly._ Then she healed her wounds finally noticing it.

"Tsunade-hime, we now should discuss about the war" said Jiraya but noticed that Sakura was still looking at the door and addressed her "Is something the matter?"

Suddenly, the kunoichi took out three kunais from her pouch and threw it at the door. Because she applied some force, the kunais just went through the wood. Sakura then kicked the door open with a dagger ready in her hand but nobody was in the corridor. Jiraya and Tsunade appeared by her side ready for a fight when Sakura put the dagger back in its sheath.

Then Jiraya started laughing "You're even more paranoid than Tsunade-hime." The Slug Queen cleared her trout next to him with a twitching eyebrow. "Oh… Ts-Tsunade-hime, you know I didn't mean that."

"_Sure_ you didn't" said Tsunade, entering her office "And, Jiraya-_kun_, I am glad you volunteered to fix my door."

"B-but-but… Ah never mind" Jiraya too went into the office, defeated.

Sakura was still standing in the corridor. Metal strings appeared from her gloves and wrapped around the kunai handle's rings. With it she pulled out knifes in her own direction and caught them.

"Sakura, what are you doing out in the corridor and what happened to the door?" asked dark haired woman, who had just appeared.

"Shizune-chan, it is my fault. Don't blame Tsunade-shishou. And don't worry about the door, Jiraya-sama wanted to fix it." Shizune looked relieved and went into, now, door less room.

Sakura looked at her kunais in her hand, which was covered in blood. Her eyes narrowed.

"Sakura-chan, come in, we need your help" called Shizune.

"Hai" answered Sakura and put the blood covered knifes back in their place. Before entering the room, she glared at the window that was slightly open and went in.

Naruto was standing outside. He was clutching his left shoulder, also his right cheek and neck had a deep gash. "Damn. Sakura-chan's scary. Her kunai went to through my shoulder. Good thing it was not poisoned" he sighed for his fortune. Red chakra unnoticeable to the naked eye started to heal his wounds. "Well, I'll just have to give my report tomorrow."

_**: End of Flashback : **_

"_You_" hissed Sakura. Her fist was clenching and unclenching.

"Sakura-chan" Naruto put his hands in front of him in sign of innocence "It was an accident. I didn't mean to!"

"Naruto. Jiraya-san was blocking the room with _chakra_. You're telling me that you _accidentally_ made a hole in it and _accidentally_ hid your chakra so nobody would detect you?" If looks could kill, Naruto would have been six feet under.

"Hey, I did get hit by your kunais accidentally" said Naruto.

"_Men _and their _pride_" growled Sakura. _He would never admit that he was injured by a girl._ But then they noticed shift in the air. The Akatsuki had noticed them. Sakura took out one scroll from her pouch; it was red with black markings. Sakura started to explain, seeing Naruto's confused gaze "Naruto, listen closely. This is a time scroll; it was passed down in my family from one generation to another. Use this scroll to prevent this from ever happening" Sakura said looking at the burning village or what was left of it "When you open it, you'll know what to do." They both felt Akatsuki's chakra that was getting closer. She forcefully showed the scroll to the blond.

"Sakura-chan, before I go I want to see your real appearance" said Naruto.

Sakura considered it. _I am going to die anyway, so why not._ She did complicated hand signs and there was poof of white smoke. After it cleared, Naruto forgot how to breathe.

_God. She is __**beautiful**__._

Sakura's body had curves at all right places, her skin was creamy white and her face was that of an angel. However, her hair was not blond, it was pure silky white. The only thing that was the same were her eyes, but they were bottomless. For a moment, Naruto lost himself in the pools of her eyes. The blood that was covering her was still there but it couldn't hide the girl's stunning looks.

"Naruto, what are you waiting for? Hurry!" The blond was in daze because her voice was like a sweet lullaby. Sakura got impatient and kicked him with her good leg. Naruto got out of his trance and felt that Akatsuki had almost reached them. He opened the scroll in rush, put it on the ground and bit his thumb. He felt like he did this often and started to write kanjis and signs in ancient language with his blood. The scroll started to glow and red sphere surrounded him. Suddenly, the second sphere appeared and surrounded Sakura.

"Naruto! What did you do?!" screamed Sakura.

And the blinding light surrounded both of them.

* * *

_**This is the end of the first chapter. I'll update if there is atleast 1 reviews, so R&R**_


	2. The end of the tunnel

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of Naruto's characters

* * *

_**Well there isn't much for me to say is it? Simply read and enjoy!**_

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Sakura looked around her surroundings. She could tell that she was in a tunnel, where the end of it couldn't be seen. She also noticed that the ceiling was so high that the lights couldn't reach it. The air was very still around her, almost surreal. Sakura tried to remember what happened and how she got there but came up with nothing. She checked herself and saw that her clothes were still torn and covered in blood. Oddly, her injuries were fine like she didn't even get wounded.

_Well,_ _I have to find my way out of here, nonetheless. _With that thought she started to walk only to hear splashes. Instinctively she took out kunai for defense. But there was nobody in sight when she looked around. The floor became blurry and only then did Sakura realize that she was walking in the ankle deep water. The ripples stopped but she couldn't see her own reflection in it and in addition she couldn't even feel the liquid. _Okay. This is getting weirder._

Sakura bent on her knees and dipped her hand in the water, testing it. When she pulled it out, her hand was not wet but still there were ripples on the surface of the strange liquid like it was real water. Straightening up, the kunoichi started to walk trying to avert her attention from the little splashes and also not knowing where she was headed. She hated the feeling because she felt like a blind bird flying in an unknown territory. Also, Sakura couldn't see the source of the light, though, the tunnel was illuminated.

* * *

Sakura didn't know how much time passed since she mysteriously ended up in a tunnel, maybe 4 or 6 hours. Strangely, there were butterflies in her stomach like she was expecting something to happen soon and she hoped her feelings were telling her that the exit was near. But everywhere she looked, things looked familiar like she passed the objects many times. The white haired girl tried to see if she was walking in circles by leaving a few kunai marks on the wall but she didn't see any of her marks yet.

Suddenly the tunnel trembled and rocked and no matter the amount of skill Sakura used to keep still, she fell down into the liquid face down.

Putting her hand on each side of her head to push up, the kunoichi lifted her head out of the fluid to get air. But the breath caught in her throat, seeing something that definitely wasn't there before. Another tunnel had appeared right next to her, completely devoid of any light, which made her stomach do flip-flops.

Sakura stood up slowly, too busy to notice that her ripped closes had been mended like new. Something was telling her to go into the tunnel but her head was telling her that the curiosity killed the cat. She looked in the direction she was walking and, shaking her head, entered the dark tunnel, finally making her decision. The tunnel was dark and Sakura had no choice but to walk straight, hoping that there were no twists or turns.

Suddenly, she felt a faint presence in the end of the tunnel and feeling excited that somebody else was there; she started to run, regardless if it was a friend or foe. Soon, she saw a light and ran in that direction and when she went trough it, Sakura stopped dead in her tracks. There was a big cell concealed in darkness in front of her, moreover, the girl didn't see anybody.

_But I felt the presence, and … wait it is there_. It was coming from the cell which was closed with a worn out paper with sealing kanji's on it.

The space between bars was wide enough for her to fit in and she used it to her advantage to enter it, her rational side forgotten. Darkness, which was sickeningly warm, embraced her. Sakura took a few steps to test for traps and satisfied, she started to walk with chakra spreading around her.

The reason she didn't use it in before was because the strange tunnel was preventing her form using chakra. At first she didn't even knew that her chakra was gone because of the liquid, which made her completely forget about it. However, now the liquid in the cell, which was same in texture, suddenly made her recall about the shinoby's chakra. She almost banged her head into the bars because of her stupidness, when she remembered it.

_Good thing I learned this technique. Now I don't have to worry about not seeing._ The chakra was helping her to feel her surroundings like a bat using the sound waves. Sakura suddenly felt a shift near her.

"Who's there!" shouted Sakura, startled, but the only response she got was silence "Answer me!"

All of a sudden, scarlet chakra appeared in front of her, it was massive, almost the same size of a mountain. The chakra was gradually forming a shape it turned out to be a form of a gigantic fox. _It can't be._ Crimson eyes with slits were staring at her and very big deadly canines appeared below it and grinned at her with malice.

"**Finally. I can get out of this wretched cell**" said the fox.

Sakura was staring at it wide eyed "Kyuubi." She was too shocked to notice the chakra that was creeping up to her in the liquid.

The fox laughed broadly and before she knew it, it lunged at her. Sakura tried to move but couldn't. She looked down and saw the red chakra that was holding her legs. _Shit. I never knew that this is how I die._ Fear was spreading through out her whole body, clenching her knuckles to regain her composure, the kunoichi tried to remember what Kakashi told her once about canceling invading chakras. She went over her memories in a hurry and found what she needed.

_That's it!_ Sakura cut the things with her own sharpened chakra and trusted herself to her right. The fox missed her and hit the ground with a force but the shape completely disappeared into the liquid.

Sakura warily checked her surroundings, her hand twitching once in a while with pressure she was clenching her knuckles. There was no outgrown kitsune trying to kill her in her perception. Seeing that it was her chance, the kunoichi ran to the cell bars, but still with caution. She would have gotten out of the Kyuubi's cell, if it had not been for the scarlet mass of chakra appearing right in front of her.

Slightly surprised, the girl skidded in the colorless liquid and changed her direction, with all her skills trying not to fall, and started to run left trying to circle the thing. All of a sudden, hand like claws caught her whole body and threw her into a wall. The girl's body collided with the hard stone, definitely cracking few of her bones, and fell into the liquid below it.

Sakura couldn't move; her whole body was in terrible pain. It was not the collision with the wall that put her in this condition but the scarlet chakra that touched her. Right now, she could barely take a breath. Blood that came out of her mouth was blending with the colorless liquid, creating a strange red mix. She coughed out more blood. Her body was losing its feelings, becoming numb. Her vision was swimming and it was hard to think straight, without feeling nauseous.

"**Don't die on me kunoichi. You are my only salvation**" The said kitsune with strange tenderness in its voice. But Sakura didn't even hear the half of what the fox said.

Kyuubi gently turned her body around, so that she was lying on her back. Sakura only saw the blurry image of the fox getting closer to her and, finally, she lost her consciousness, not able to fight the demon's poisonous chakra in her system any longer.

* * *

The red sphere disappeared with Sakura. Naruto noticed that his sphere lost its red tint in its color and also started to disappear. All of a sudden, he felt really tired and weak. He only thought that it was the scroll's side effect and didn't worry about it.

He looked up to the night sky, pondering on what he did. Sakura wanted him to go to the past, it was still hard for him to believe that such techniques existed, but instead he used the jutsu on her. Naruto couldn't leave her behind and save himself, not like what happened before the attack. She was the most precious person to him and he really loved her with all his heart, but it was a secret nobody knew.

-_Ting_-

Naruto was still staring at the sky, when the Akatsuki surrounded him. The bells on their hats were silently tinkling. The blond didn't notice them or ignored them and closed his eyes.

"Kyuubi no Jinchuuriki" said an all too familiar voice. Naruto turned to the direction of the voice and opened his eyes. Madara Uchiha was standing before him, with the same yellow and swirled mask. To Naruto's outmost shock, Uchiha Itachi was standing next to him. There were also other new but less known shinobys, who became members of Akatsuki.

"Naruto-kun" started Itachi "Where is Sakura, the apprentice of the Godaime" he asked in monotone, without a hint of emotion in his voice. Naruto noticed that he didn't say Sakura's adoptive families name and kept his mouth shut.

"Oi!! Bastard, just answer the question and be done with it!" shouted one of the new members, clearly not knowing his place. Madara and Itachi didn't even glance at him but, suddenly, the newbie fell to the ground, dead. Naruto was really startled because he didn't see any of them move.

"I don't want to ask the question again, Naruto-kun" softly said Itachi, as if not seeing that one of them was dead.

"It would be better if you kill me! Because I won't tell you anything!!" screamed Naruto and lunged at Itachi.

Madara appeared before Naruto and punched him with a force that knocked his breath out. The blonde's body flew to the very tree, where Sakura was resting only minute's before. He hit the tree, shaking it a little, and his body slid down.

Naruto spat out blood and tried to stand up but failed miserably. It was very strange for him because even if he was out of chakra the Kyuubi should have replenished it by now. He didn't have time to solve his situation because he was, suddenly, lifted up and thrown over somebody's shoulder, like a sack of potato. Naruto tried to hit, curse, growl at the person but his body didn't listen to him.

"We will head back to the Head Quarters and he shall be put in the interrogation room. I need the information on girl's whereabouts no matter what" commanded Madara and disappeared. Every Akatsuki followed his example.

The person carrying Naruto turned out to be a big bulky shinoby. Naruto didn't move from his position and let his awareness slip, since his body was exhausted, and before he lost his consciousness he thought of one thing.

_Sakura-chan… I know you can do it._

* * *

**_End of Chapter 2. _**

**_Do you guys see a button "GO"? Click it and review. Hehehe just kidding, do as you wish. And Kai, Thank you for writing a wonderful review, It really encouraged me!  
_**


	3. Now it begins

Disclaimer: _**I don't own Naruto and I know you know it.**_

* * *

**Chapter 3**

The birds were singing their song from their hearts. Sun was rising, indicating that it was an early morning. Wild animals were wandering around in the forest, where they were born. Suddenly, the forest became very still, even the soft breeze stopped blowing. The next second, a sphere, tainted with red color, appeared in the middle of the forest. And it disappeared as fast as it appeared and the only thing left behind was a body of girl, approximately eleven or twelve years old, dressed in jet black clothes.

The forest, again, became full of life. The young girl opened her eyes and sat up with her arms holding her up. She looked around in confusion and tested if her legs could hold her, satisfied she stood up. Again, she looked around and the events of what happened dawned on her and her eyes widened.

"NARUTO!!" she called but there was no response. Her breathing became faster and irregular, when she remembered the giant shape of a fox. Her legs started to buckle under her weigh and she fell down, suddenly, too tired. There were unshed tears in her eyes and her whole body shook.

"Sakura-sama" said a very feminine voice.

Startles, Sakura looked up to see nothing. She narrowed her eyes and stood up with caution.

"I am here Sakura-sama." It was coming from behind her and she quickly turned around and her eyes widened in complete shock.

There was a slender white wolf, looking at her with eyes much like her own. The thing that shocked Sakura was that the half of the wolf's body was in the ground or more specifically it was in her shadow.

"I am so happy that I could finally talk to you Sakura-sama!" said the wolf, suddenly jumping up to her, from the girl's shadow. Sakura fell on the ground with the white wolf on top her and groaned from the impact. The wolf was sitting on her body and shaking her tail with happiness like a dog.

"C-could you get off of me!" said Sakura with anger in her voice. The wolf complied. Sakura stood up and looked at the wolf, who was hanging her head down in front of her. Sakura could see that the wolf was very big in size and more beautiful.

"Sakura-sama. I am sorry that I jumped on you. I will gladly receive your punishment for what I did" said the female wolf. Sakura was baffled at the animal.

"Wait! I won't punish you!" said Sakura holding her hands up, indicating that she won't do anything. She also noticed that she was in her true form but didn't think much of it.

"Really! Sakura-sama, you are so generous and very beautiful" said the wolf with happiness. Sakura sweatdropped. _Me … generous and beautiful?_ "Please take good care of me. I am still an immature pup" said the wolf … er … pup.

"Wait a minute. What do you mean take good care of you?" asked Sakura, knowing that there is no way that she could raise a wolf.

"Sakura-sama, my name is Tsukiko the Child of the Moon. I will explain everything to you" said the pup, seeing her confused face "Since the Tsuki clan was created every head member owned a wolf. And by law, wolfs of the clan's prodigy always has the same name, my name. From the beginning, wolfs also represented the strength of the Tsuki clan's kekkei genkai" explained the pup "And now the prodigy of the clan is you, Sakura-sama. You were the first to activate the shineme at such a young age. And I was chosen to become your faithful companion because of my special blood trait" she finally finished and waited for Sakura to say something.

"Oh" was the only thing the girl muttered "Tsukiko right?" the pup nodded "If you are my wolf, how come I had never seen you?" asked Sakura. The pup suddenly tensed.

"The companions of the prodigy were always chosen by the elders of our kind. It was a rule to wait for a week before the heir was introduced to their companion. But the day after you activated the shineme, something went wrong in the ceremony-"

"A ceremony?" asked Sakura, already sitting on the ground, hugging her right leg and her chin on the right knee. She didn't remember any of the things the pup had said.

"Yes, a ceremony was always held. It helped the new prodigy to control their shineme. You see, shineme is a very complicated blood line to master. So the head members seal away more than half of the blood line's power. If the user was weak, they would die from their own blood very cruelly" at this the pup shuddered "But after the head members started the sealing, your chakra started to resist, the head members couldn't handle the sheer force and stopped the ceremony. And when they tried to reach you, the heir … you, suddenly, activated shineme and went rampage. And I hope you know the rest" finished the pup.

"What happened to the other wolfs?" asked Sakura with regret in her voice.

"All the others, too, were killed by you. But I survived because I was you companion. After the shineme is activated the wolfs start to mature but you, after the massacre, sealed away your kekkei genkai and I was sealed with it, thus not giving me time to mature."

"So you saying that I somehow released the seal?" asked Sakura really confused.

"Yes, it seems so. And I don't know how it happened" declared the pup. Suddenly, little drops of rain started to fall from the sky. Sakura looked up to see grey clouds, she was so into what the pup was saying to her that she didn't notice her surroundings. It was a grave mistake on her part 

as a shinoby to let her guard down. She felt something wet on her cheek, which was not the rain drop. She looked down to see the pup standing right in front of her with concerned eyes.

"Sakura-sama, if you stay in the rain long, you will get sick, let us go find shelter. I smell that the rain will worsen." As if on cue it poured even harder. Sakura nodded and started to run into one direction with Tsukiko close behind her.

"Sakura-sama, you should ride on top of me. I am faster and I smell a smoke coming from a big village" reasoned Tsukiko. Sakura agreed and hopped on the pup. True to her words, Tsukiko ran at a neck breaking speed.

Few minutes later they arrived at the village gates. Sakura instantly recognized the sign on the gates.

"Konohagakure" she whispered, barely believing what she was seeing. She got off from the pup's back and walked into the gates in a daze.

"Who's there!!" shouted somebody over the rain's sound. Three people surrounded her and her new wolf. "State your name and the reason why you are here" commanded one of them.

_It seems they don't recognize me. _Thought Sakura. Tsukiko started to growl dangerously at them and the three shinobys got their weapons out, ready to dispose of the wolf.

"Wait." The shinobys looked at her still with caution.

"My name is Sakura" she took a deep breath, closing her eyes "Tsuki Sakura" and she opened her eyes with determination.

* * *

**_End of chapter 3_**

**_Shineme means Eyes of Death_**

**_Tsuki means Moon_**

**_Tsukiko means Moon and Child_**

**_This was a very short chapter. But next time I'll try to make chapter 4 longer. Promise!! Oh and review._**


	4. Meetings and Questions

**Discalimer:** I do not own Naruto.

**_I can't believe I finished the fourth chapter!! It is not that long but hey I tried. So Read and most importantly I hope you Enjoy!_**

"moon" **_speech_**

_ Moon **thought**_

* * *

_**:Recap:**_

"_Wait." The shinobys looked at her still with caution._

"_My name is Sakura" she took a deep breath, closing her eyes "Tsuki Sakura" and she opened her eyes with determination._

_**:End of Recap:**_

* * *

**Chapter 4**

"**Meetings and Questions"**

"What is your business here … Tsuki Sakura?" asked the same person, who seemed to be the leader. Sakura looked at him with her deep green eyes, examining him closely. He was wearing a Jounin vest, brown hair, icy blue eyes and Sakura could tell that he was powerful. The shinoby unwillingly shivered a little under her gaze.

"I live in this village" stated the white haired girl. Tsukiko snickered next to her but only Sakura heard her.

"Give us your identification" ordered the leader. Sakura scowled because there was no way that she had it with her. The shinoby saw her expression and ordered his group.

"We will take her to see the Hokage-sama. He will decide what to do with her" The other two tried to protest but the leader glared, shutting them up. "Usually, if there was something suspicious, we must eliminate it on sight but you're lucky girl" he said.

"I knew it. Nobody can resist any of Tsuki prodigy's looks" said Tsukiko, grinning. Sakura looked at the pup questioningly but let it go, noting to herself to get answers later.

The three shinobys formed a triangle around her and her wolf and Sakura had no choice but to follow them. The rain at that point poured harder with thunder and lightning. Tsukiko was walking next to her, casting wary glances at the shinoby, growling a little. Sakura put her hand on the pup's fur to calm her. Both of them were already soaking wet.

Soon, the Hokage Tower came into her view. In the rain, it looked even more intimating but Sakura was already used to it.

They entered the building and passed many people, who wouldn't stop staring at her. And finally they reached the Hokage's office. The leader knocked on the door lightly and turned his head around to look at her. Sakura didn't like the look he gave her and Tsukiko growled at him, showing her sharp canines.

"Come in." The brown haired shinoby opened the door and let her enter first.

* * *

Sarutobi was sitting behind his desk with his pipe in his hand, massaging his temple. His work was all over the desk but he couldn't concentrate on it. Lately the problems in the village were making him stressed. Most of his higher ranked shinobys had a mission and it would take them a few weeks to complete it. If he sent other strong shinobys, the village would be left almost defenseless. He was still wondering what he would do when there was a knock on a door.

"Come in" he said with a sigh. The group that was supposed to guard one of the gates came in with a young girl. He looked at the white haired girl in surprised and turned to the leader.

"What is the meaning of this, Yukio" questioned Sandaime, staring intensely at the leader of the group.

"Sarutobi-sama, she was found entering the gates without any identification" explained Yukio.

"Hmm" Sarutobi looked at Sakura and her wolf, who was scowling. "Yukio, go back to the gates. I'll handle this." Yukio nodded and before leaving the room, he gave Sakura the same disgusting look.

"Now, tell me your name" said Sarutobi, with ease in his voice, after the group left. Sakura with out his permission sat in the chair in front of him and her wolf laid her head on Sakura's lap. The girl stroked her wolf on the head and said to him.

"You already know me as somebody else." Sarutobi raised his eyebrow at her. Sakura just smirked and continued to caress Tsukiko's fur.

"Oh? Who would that be?" asked Sandaime.

"Haruno Sakura" said Sakura and smiled a little when Sarutobi's eyes widened. "But my real name is Tsuki Sakura." Sakura was expecting a shocked Hokage but Sarutobi was anything but that. Instead he narrowed his eyes and calmly took out worn out scroll from his drawer. Sakura stared at it with suspicion.

"Something happened seven years ago" started Sarutobi, opening it and giving it to her "At that time, I received a news that Tsuki clan found a new prodigy. So, I used that to my advantage, hoping to have a political bond with that powerful clan. Me and 6 six other shinobys left for the important ceremony." Sakura and Tsukiko tensed at that moment. "But when we got there, the place was unrecognizable. There were dead bodies everywhere and I gave an order to search the place" Sandaime sighed "When we met again, one of the shinoby was holding a little girl, covered in blood. We could tell by her looks that she was not a Tsuki, maybe a lucky servant who survived. But now I see that we were wrong" finished the Hokage.

Sakura was quiet for long time, her face showing a complete calmness about the situation. Inside she was ashamed of herself, not because of what happened, but because she felt happiness that Sarutobi didn't know who slaughtered the clan. Sakura closed the scroll and gave it back to Sarutobi.

"Sakura, I don't know how strong you are, so, I would like to test you. If you agree that is" said Sarutobi, waiting for the answer. Sakura thought it over, the only reason she was here because she had to change the future. So, by just talking to Sandaime is changing it. Sakura smirked and nodded.

"Good. Come back here four days from now and be prepared" ordered Sarutobi. Sakura nodded again and stood up to go, her wolf following her.

"Sakura." The girl turned back to him "Your adopted parents are in another country for a few months and the Academy's last day is tomorrow. Just to remind you" said Sarutobi and continued his work, dismissing her.

* * *

Sakura was walking in the streets with Tsukiko. It was still raining hard and her clothes were sticking to her body uncomfortably. _Why my clothes shrank to this size, I would never know._ Sakura thought. But her Jounin vest was gone and luckily all her important scrolls were in the pouch.

The streets were empty, only few citizens walked past her, too busy to notice a white wolf and a girl. Soon, her house came to their view. Sakura walked to the bush next her house and took a key, which was under the green bush. She had always hidden her key there, since she was little a little girl. Opening the door, Sakura let Tsukiko in first.

"Tadaima" she whispered to herself. Leaving her sandals next to the door, Sakura entered the living room. _How nostalgic._ She thought observing the room and the kitchen. Tsukiko whined next to her, with impatience.

"You go first. I think my room is upstairs on the right" she said to the pup. Tsukiko without saying anything left her side. Sakura's gaze wandered around the every detail of the room and walked to where her room most likely was.

Tsukiko was already sleeping on the floor in the bright pink room. Sakura grimaced at the color. Putting down all her weapons and pouches on the table she entered the joint bathroom. She washed her face first and looked at the attire she was wearing. She had a jet black sleeveless turtleneck top with a zipper starting at her throat and going to her left hip. Under it she was wearing bandages on her chest area. Her medical skirt only reached her mid thigh and was jet black with two slashes and buckles **_(The skirt that Sakura wears in shippuden but only black)_**, also, a dark colored shorts under it, almost invisible.

_I'll go to the academy like this tomorrow. Who cares about the style._ She thought, while undressing herself. She took a quick shower, washing away the remaining blood and dirt. And after she dried her hair, Sakura washed her attire.

Sakura was sitting on her bed in deep thought. She remembered what she wore when she was twelve and shuddered. And she was the weakest in the team. _But not this time._ Sakura smirked. She was going to change everything.

* * *

Tsukiko woke up four hours later. Stretching first she looked around the room, not seeing her master. The dark clouds were still in the sky, leaving the room in darkness. The only thing she heard was the sound of raindrops hitting the roof and the window.

"You finally woke from your slumber" said somebody startling the pup.

"Sakura-sama, when did you enter?" asked Tsukiko. Sakura ignored the question and sat on the floor next to her.

"Tsukiko." The pup tilted her head "I want to ask you a few questions." The white pup nodded her head, sitting down. "The Tsuki clan must have lived in a place with one big mansion and other houses surrounding it." Tsukiko nodded again. "Jiraya-sama said that he found a mansion but he didn't say anything about seeing other houses. What does it mean?"

"I don't know about that part Sakura-sama. Maybe the Hokage of this village with his shinoby piled the dead bodies in the houses and burned them." Sakura nodded at her logic.

"So, after the massacre I sealed away my identity and memories and everyday used a genjustu to stay hidden. But why I started to remember after my fifteenth birthday? Also, why the seal suddenly broke? And why my genjutsu doesn't work anymore!!" questioned Sakura, her voice rising gradually and glaring at the window in the dark.

"I … honestly don't know Sakura-sama" whispered the pup with a shacking voice. Tsukiko was scared of her master, who was now emitting a dangerous aura. Sakura growled a little, her eyes, suddenly, flashed a different color before returning to deep emerald.

"I am sorry. I shouldn't have asked questions you don't know" Sakura's voice became softer with a hint of guilt.

"Sakura-sama, I am your companion for life and you are my master. As long as you need me for something … anything, I would be happy" said Tsukiko, already her growing maturity showing. Sakura nodded quietly and started to stroke the pup's white fur. Tsukiko laid down and closed her eyes in pleasure.

The thunderstorm started to slow down and soon stopped. Inside the room Tsuki Sakura and her faithful wolf companion slept on the floor with peaceful expressions, knowing that from that day their fate will be full of obstacles and hardships.

* * *

_**End of Chapter 4**_

**_I want to say my thanks to the people who reviewed. And if anyone has questions just ask, I'll try to help because this fiction might be little confusing. R&R_**

**_Kekkei Genkai is Bloodline Limit_**

**_Sandaime is the Third Hokage_**


	5. The Good Old Days

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

**_Yeah, I finished the chapter 5. I stayed up the whole night to finish this. Hehehe. Read and Enjoy!!_**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

**"The Good Old Days"**

Sakura slowly opened her eyes. She was lying on the hard floor, hugging something soft and furry. The thing was very warm and it was … moving. The girl sat up with a bolt and looked at the furry thing. Slowly a smile formed on her lips.

Tsukiko was sleeping very peacefully next to her, twitching once in a while. The wolf's chest was leisurely rising up and down; that explained the moving thing. Sakura only then noticed that Tsukiko smelled like a forest in winter with newly covered snow.

Strangely, the wolf appeared even bigger and more slender in built. It seemed that her new companion was right about the Tsuki clan's wolf maturing and growing when their master activated shineme. Well, in her case, reactivated or unsealed her kekkei genkai.

Sakura stood up slowly, trying not to wake up her wolf, and entered the bathroom. She was washing her face when she looked at the mirror in front of her.

Staring back at her was a girl with silky white hair, which reached her mid back. Only her front bangs reached her chin. Her face was heart shaped with a little bit of baby fat. And her eyes were narrowed; the color of her eyes was deep dark emerald. Overall, her face screamed aristocracy.

Sakura dried her face. She tied her hair into a tight low ponytail, leaving her front bangs free, and entered her room to get dressed and prepare her weapons. Tsukiko was already awake and waiting for her. When she checked the clock, it was already seven forty five, only fifteen minutes till her class.

"You have to stay in the house" ordered Sakura, going down stairs. She looked back expecting the wolf to follow her but saw nothing.

"Sakura-sama, I must stay with you no matter what, till I reach maturity" suddenly said a voice underneath her. She looked down and saw Tsukiko's eyes and bit of her head in her shadow before it disappeared into the darkness.

Sakura sighed and nodded, knowing that she won't win the argument. She again checked herself in the mirror, half expecting to see a seventeen year old girl with pink hear. But instead she saw a twelve year old girl with silky white hair, wearing the jet black attire from the day before. This time half of her lower leg was bandaged and, in addition, she had black, not blue, standard shinobi sandals. She only took some hidden weapons and kunais, which was fastened on her right thigh.

The girl looked at the clock again and saw that five minutes was left till class. Finally, she left the house and ran to the Academy with neck breaking speed. Because her house was on the civilian side of the village, it took four minutes to arrive at her class door.

Her hand was shacking a bit and her heart was bumping so hard that she heard it. Maybe because of excitement or nervousness, she couldn't tell. Taking a deep breath in and clenching one of her knuckles, she opened the door.

The whole class went silent, when she entered. Sakura slowly walked in and looked around, going over every details of the room. Memories hit her like a ton of bricks, all reminding her of days when her life was easy going. A smile, which was barely visible, formed on her lips when she spotted somebody very dear to her.

Naruto was staring at her like there was no tomorrow with an open mouth. He was crouching on a desk in front of Sasuke, surrounded by many girls. Suddenly, a lump formed in her throat, when she looked at his blue naïve eyes full life and innocence, still untouched by the cruelty of the shinobi life.

"Naruto" she whispered but everybody heard her and their attention shifted to him.

Naruto's face turned into a scarlet red color because a very _very_ hot girl knew his name. The boy went into a complete trance when he looked into her eyes. The color and deepness of it was sucking him in. But he snapped out when there was an interruption.

"Good morning cla-" started Iruka, entering the room, but stopped "Good morning" he said looking at her in shock. Sakura nodded, staring at him, waiting to see if he would start to ask questions.

"Ah … Hokage-sama wanted me to give you this" Iruka said, giving her a hitai-ate. Sakura accepted it with out a word but didn't tie it anywhere, just held it in her hand.

"Iruka-sensei! Who is she!" asked somebody and the whole class started to murmur their agreements.

"Don't tell me you all have forgotten about Sakura-chan here" Iruka grinned, pointing at her.

_It seems Sarutobi-sama already informed him some little things. _Sakura mused and watched the reaction of the others.

"My real name is Tsuki Sakura not Haruno" she said and something clicked in the whole classes mind. The expressions on their faces were priceless. _It seems, this time, everything would be more amusing._ Assumed Sakura.

"Forehead-girl?!" shouted Ino in disbelief. Sakura just nodded without even looking at her, which infuriated her.

"Alright class. Go back to your seats" ordered Iruka. Grumbling everybody sat down and, ironically, the only seat left for her was the space between Naruto and Sasuke.

"Starting today, you are all official shinobis, but you all are still new Genins" started Iruka, hands grasped behind his back "It is going to get harder from here. You all will be in a group of three, where you will accomplish missions under a Jounin-sensei."

"I wonder who's going to be in Sasuke-kun's team, maybe it is me" silently said Ino behind her but loud enough for Sakura to hear it. However, she didn't get the reaction she wanted from Sakura, wait… she didn't get any reaction at all, not even a twitch. Ino grinded her teeth very loudly, which made Sakura smirk.

"We've arranged the groups such that overall abilities are equivalent" continued Iruka "I will now announce them."

By then Sakura stopped listening, already knowing what will be said. She noticed that most of the boys were staring at her with hearts in their eyes while girls were glaring at her. _I am already attracting too much attention. That won't be good._ Thought Sakura with a little annoyance.

"Yeah!" suddenly, screamed Naruto, standing up.

"-and Uchiha Sasuke" said Iruka. Apparently, she missed hearing her name. Next to her, Naruto dropped his head down in defeat.

"Why does she get to be with him" said a really pissed of Ino, her whole body shacking in rage. And then she started to argue about something with Shikamaru.

"That's it for the groups" finished Iruka.

"Iruka-sensei!" screamed Naruto, pointing his finger at Sasuke "Why is a top-student like me in a group with this guy?!"

"Sasuke graduated with the highest scores" stated Iruka "And you, Naruto, had the worst scores." When he said it, everybody laughed except few. "This happens because we want to-"

Sakura ignored the rest of the talk, her hitai-ate still grasped in her hand. She was wondering what she would do form there on to complete her mission. Maybe she will leave the village if she has to. Not as a missing-nin but close to it. Her train of thought was interrupted when boys surrounded her. It looked like the class was already dismissed till afternoon.

"U-um… Sakura-chan?" said one of them fidgeting, making her raise one of her eyebrows "Will you go out with me!" All the others said something similar to it, a very bright red blush on their faces, waiting for her answer.

Sakura almost chocked but kept her calm demeanor.

"No" she replied coldly, making them flinch, and abruptly disappeared.

"Wow" the boys said in unison "She is sooo cooool!!"

* * *

"Tsuki Sakura" said Kurenai "Hokage-sama, who is she?"

Jounins, who gathered in the room, nodded their agreements. They were all looking at the crystal ball, the moment before. Kurenai was very interested in her because she felt that the girl will make a powerful genjutsu user, maybe even stronger than she. Kakashi, too, was looking at the girl in wonder but didn't pay much attention to her like he did to Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto.

"I am sorry, Kurenai. But I can't disclose information about Tsuki Sakura. Not yet, at least" said Sarutobi, making everybody curious.

"Why does her name Tsuki sound familiar" lazily asked Kakashi. Kurenai, too, found it strange.

"Maybe you will find out eventually because you are her team's sensei" said Sarutobi, smoking his pipe.

"What!! Sarutobi-sama, you know that she will be strong in genjutsu! It is obvious that Kakashi will only pay his attention to the males in that team! Besides, if I will teach her-"

"Silence!" harshly said Sarutobi, making her flinch "I would have given her to you. However, I have my reasons" he softly finished.

Kurenai didn't argue back but she was glaring at Kakashi with everything she got.

"Hokage-sama, I have a request" said Kurenai stubbornly. Sarutobi raised his eyebrow and nodded. "If Kakashi doesn't give Sakura a proper attention, I would like to take her under my wing immediately."

"Very well" agreed Sarutobi "It seems fair."

And all of them were dismissed. Kakashi was walking out when Kurenai stormed by him with a loud "humph". He sweatdropped.

"Kurenai seems really angry with you" said Asuma, when he walked next to him.

"Wow, I didn't notice" deadpanned Kakashi.

"I definitely wouldn't want to be in your shoes right now" Asuma said before walking away.

"Thanks. That made me feel much better" said Kakashi after him with sarcasm. But Asuma only back waved him with his right hand.

* * *

Sakura was walking in the Academy's training ground when some girls from her class surrounded her.

"Who do you think you are!!" said one of them "Why are you in the same team as _our_ Sasuke-kun!"

"Yeah. And what's with the white color, freak! Couldn't find anything else to dye your ugly hair with?" said another girl "And look. She must have used some hear growing product to make her forehead appear normal."

Other girls giggled. Sakura was gradually loosing her patience. Something was growling near her, ready to get out and kill the annoying girls. _I need to make them leave before something happenes._ She thought, worried about Tukiko's reaction.

"Are you finished?" asked Sakura coolly. The giggling stopped.

"What?"

"I said 'Are you finished' or do you have serious hearing problems" asked or more like stated Sakura.

"You bitch" said the girl, who was making fun of her, and got out one kunai.

"Wow. I am surprised. You can hold a kunai with out cutting yourself" said Sakura with a smirk that unsettled the other girls.

"Die!!" screamed the girl and tried to stab her.

Sakura easily caught the hand with the kunai and pulled the girl in her direction. When the girl stumbled to her, Sakura twirled her around, holding the arm behind the girl's back. The girl fell on her knees in front of her.

"Let me go!!"

But it only made Sakura twist her arm more painfully, which made the girl scream. Tears were streaming down the girl's face and it looked like she was ready to piss herself. When Sakura took out her own kunai from the pouch, other girls shrieked and ran away, stumbling over their own legs.

Sakura pushed away the girl she was holding, making her fall down face first into the ground. The girl turned around to face her, shacking like crazy.

"If you and your friends bother me again" Sakura made the kunai she was holding to glint in the sun. She didn't finish and left the rest to the girl's imaginations. The girl nodded and ran away like her friends, tripping over and falling few times.

"Tsukiko" said Sakura "You must never come out, unless I tell otherwise."

"Hai" the wolf said after being silent for a few minutes.

Sakura stared at the position of the sun and found out that she had to return already. She was walking back, when she finally looked at her hitai-ate properly. The cloth was definitely a silk and, ironically, it was pearl white, not standard blue. Sakura, finally, tied it loosely around her neck, like a necklace.

When she entered, Iruka and the new Jounin-senseis were there. She quickly took her seat and saw that already half of the class was gone.

"Team 8, follow me" said an attractive woman with black hair and red eyes. Sakura looked at Kurenai in boredom but straightened up when Kurenai stared back and made eye contact with her. Kiba, Hinata and Shino were already waiting for their sensei by the door but she didn't move. _Strange, that didn't happen before._ Thought Sakura when Kurenai, suddenly, smiled at her before leaving. _Definitely didn't happen._

* * *

Thirty minutes pasted, the class was already empty, except Iruka and them. One hour pasted, Iruka already went home, leaving them alone. Two hours past, Naruto was walking around the room over and over again in boredom.

Suddenly, he went to the door, opening it and looking outside. But the hallway was empty.

"He's late" grumbled Naruto still looking outside "Why is the sensei for our team the only one late?"

Sakura didn't answer. She was sitting on the table cross legged and was meditating, still feeling Sasuke's gaze on her. Ever since the class emptied, Sasuke wouldn't stop staring at her and when she looked at him, he would avert his attention.

Sasuke couldn't let others see that he was openly observing her and ignored her till Iruka went home. Now, he didn't worry about Naruto because he was a blockhead, an idiot. Even he was shocked when a different looking Sakura entered the classroom, making all the boys drool. Uchihas didn't drool but Sakura's body was sure as hell testing his limits.

"It's his fault for being late" said Naruto, snapping Sasuke out of his thoughts. Sasuke looked up and saw that Naruto was again playing one of his pranks.

"A Jounin isn't going to fall for a plain old booby trap like that" said Sasuke like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Even the mightiest of shinobis has flaws" stated Sakura. And Sasuke glared at her but Sakura ignored him. Sasuke was shocked because he was never ignored like that, especially by his fangirl.

All of a sudden, the door opened and a head peaked in but the raiser fell on the head. There was a complete silence in the room, when Naruto started to laugh very loudly, pointing his finger at the person.

"He fell for it! He fell for it!" said Naruto in between his laughs.

Kakashi picked up the raiser and held his chin with his other hand "How should I say this…my first impressions of you guys are…I hate you."

"And this is coming from a person, who was just hit by a slowly falling raiser" deadpanned Sakura still meditating.

Kakashi sweatdropped and said "Meet me on the roof" and he left. Naruto and Sasuke, too, left the room, leaving Sakura behind.

When Kakashi appeared on the room, he almost had a heart attack. Sakura was sitting on the stairs still meditating. _She is fast._ Kakashi thought when Naruto and Sasuke appeared, both breathing heavily because of their race to get there first.

"Wow, Sakura-chan, when did you get here" asked Naruto. Next to him, Sasuke was glaring at Sakura, hating the feeling of being beaten by a girl.

"Before the lazy sensei" said Sakura.

"Now, now, sit down boys" ordered Kakashi "Let's see, why don't you introduce yourselves."

"Like how?" asked Sasuke.

"What you like, hate, your dreams and hobbies. Something like that" explained Kakashi.

"Hey. Why don't you introduce yourself first, sensei" asked Naruto.

"Me?" asked Kakashi pointing at himself "I'm Hatake Kakashi. I have no intentions of telling you my likes and dislikes. As for my dream…, I have few hobbies. Now it's your turn. You first."

_So, all we find out is his name. _Thought Naruto and Sasuke.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I like cup ramen. But I like the ramen at Ichiraku that Iruka-sensei bought for me even more. I hate the three minutes that I have to wait after I put the hot water. My hobby is to eat and compare cup ramens! And my dream is to become greater than the Hokages! I'm going to make all the villagers recognize my existence" said Naruto with a big grin.

_I see. He grew up in an interesting way. _Thought Kakashi. "Next guy."

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are many things that I hate and there aren't a lot of things that I like. Also, I have an ambition that I have no intention to leave it as just a dream. The revival of my clan and to…kill a certain man" said Sasuke with grasped hands in front of his face.

_Just as I thought…_ Kakashi looked at Sasuke before turning to Sakura. "Last."

"My name is Tsuki Sakura. I don't care much about my likes and dislikes. And my dream…" Sakura finished and closed her eyes.

_I see why Kurenai wanted her. Girls at her age should be more interested in love than trainings. But when she spoke the word 'dream' her eyes showed more pain and suffering than that of an average shibobi. And there was knowledge and lots of it. I guess that's what people call wise beyond your age._ Mused Kakashi. "Alright, tomorrow we have survival training."

"Survival training?" repeated Naruto "Why are we training when we trained in Academy plenty of times. And what kind of training is it?"

Suddenly, Sakura started to laugh, startling everybody.

"What is so funny Sakura?" asked Kakashi.

"You know that only 9 out of 27 graduates are going to become Genins. The other 18 will be sent back to the Academy" said Sakura with a smirk "This is like a test which has dropout rate of 66. It would be amusing to see people, who have to repeat the year." Kakashi nodded.

Naruto visibly gulped next to her "No way! I went through so much trouble… . Then what was the final exam for?"

"That?" said Kakashi "It just picks out those who are qualified to become a Genin."

"What!!" screamed Naruto in disbelief.

"Anyway, I'm going to determine whether you pass or fail tomorrow at the training grounds" said Kakashi "Bring your weapons and meet at 5 a.m."

By then Naruto started to shake visibly, thinking really hard about something. Even Sasuke's hand started to shake. Kakashi observed them before turning to Sakura, only to be startled. She was just sitting with no care in the world and meditating. He couldn't tell if she was worried or not. _This girl just keeps making things even more interesting._

"Now then, meeting's over" said Kakashi, turning his back to them "Oh yeah, don't eat breakfast. You're going to throw up if you do." And he disappeared.

"What a strange sensei" said Naruto. Sasuke was secretly agreeing with him. "Ah, Sakura-chan…will you go with me to Ichiraku. They have the best ramen."

Sakura didn't look at him but stood and walked to the edge of the roof. Sasuke was thinking that there was no way that she would agree. But Sakura turned around, making a perfect picture of an angel. Both boys held their breaths.

"Not today, Naruto" said Sakura, making Sasuke smirk and Naruto slump down in disappointment. "But I promise, next time" she said before leaving.

Naruto visible brightened up and stuck his tongue out at Sasuke. The other boy was growling, making Naruto even more triumphant.

* * *

Sakura was walking through the forest with an absent look in her eyes. The next day, they will have the bell test and then she will have two days left before her little exam, prepared by the Hokage.

"Tsukiko, come out" she ordered. The wolf jumped out of her shadow and started to walk next to her but there was already a big difference. Tsukiko was much bigger now with more defined predatory look. "Do you still remember where our home was?"

"Yes, but it is far from here" the wolf said.

"Is there anyway to reach the place and be back in two or three days?" Sakura asked still walking. Tsukiko was silent for a moment with thoughtful look on her appearance.

"Then you need your clan's travel technique" she said. Sakura only raised her eyebrow. "It is a scroll, which was always kept in secret with its twin scroll. The other scroll allowed the user to change something from the past."

Sakura abruptly stopped "You mean the white scroll and the red scroll with markings?" Tsukiko nodded, looking at her master in question. "Tsukiko, you should prepare yourself because tomorrow, after the test, we are going back."

* * *

Nine hologram figures were standing in a dark place, which appeared to be a cave.

"Itachi, Kisame" said on of the figures, who most likely was the leader. "Go to the Demon country and find the place where the Tsuki clan lived. Also, bring back any information you find about the clan"

"Hai" two figures nodded and disappeared.

* * *

**_End of chapter 5_**

_**I am very grateful to the people who reviewed. And I didn't even notice that I was spelling the word shinobi wrong, thanks **_**warblade05**_**.**_

_**Hmmm...I still don't know about the pairings but I'm thinking about it.**_

**_Well, everybody R&R._**


	6. The Test and a Stranger

**Disclaimer: **I don't own any of Naruto characters

* * *

**Chapter 6**

**"The Test and a Stranger"**

_-knock- _

"Come in" said Sarutobi, putting down the document he was reading.

Sakura entered the office quietly with Tsukiko by her side. Sarutobi gestured at the chair in front of himself and waited for her to be seated.

"Good morning, Sakura" greeted Sarutobi and Sakura nodded in return "What brings you here?"

"Hokage-sama, I would like to have a permission to leave the village" said Sakura with a cool face "I will return before your exam."

"What made you decide to leave, if I may ask?" questioned Sarutobi, getting out his smoking pipe "And what about your test?"

"Personal business" coldly answered Sakura, making no place for arguments. Sarutobi raised his eyebrow, amused with her.

"Alright" said Sarutobi and took out a blank scroll. He wrote down something and stamped it. Sakura accepted the scroll but when she tried to leave, Sarutobi stopped her.

"Sakura, be careful."

"I will"

* * *

"Aaahhhhh!! Why is Kakashi-sensei _and_ Sakura-chan late!!" screamed Naruto to nobody.

"Shut up, dope" uttered Sasuke, really bored.

"What did you say, teme!!" shouted Naruto.

They started to glare at each other viciously. Both of them came to the training ground at the same time but Sakura didn't show up and Kakashi wasn't around, either. And already six hours had pasted. And to make it worse, they were almost dying of starvation.

"I said do-" started Sasuke.

"Both of you be quiet" it came almost as whisper but both of them shut up and turned to the voice. Sakura was standing a few feet away from them with a slightly annoyed face. There was a complete silence.

"Sakura-chan!! How…When…Wha?" incoherently said Naruto.

"I was standing here while you two were almost biting each other's head off" calmly responded Sakura with a bored tone.

_Tch. I didn't even sense her presence._ Sasuke thought with irritation.

Sakura slowly turned around, completely ignoring them, and smirked. "Yo, Kakashi-sensei." Nothing was behind her, which made the boys stare at her in confusion but with a puff of smoke somebody appeared.

"Hi fellows. Ohayou" said Kakashi, standing in front of Sakura.

"You're late!!" screamed Naruto, pointing his finger at Kakashi. Sasuke only scowled, showing his displeasure with the silver haired sensei.

"A black cat crossed my path, so…" Kakashi childishly tried to defend himself but Naruto and Sasuke glared at him with all their might. Seeing their faces, Kakashi fake coughed and his tone turned serious "Ma, let's move on."

Kakashi put a clock on the log next to him and said "Yosh, alarm set at 12 pm." He took out two bells and held it in front of them "Today's topic is to get one of these bells from me. Whoever can't will have no lunch. And I'm going to tie you there, and eat bento in front of you." He pointed at the direction of the three bigger logs.

_So that's why he said 'don't eat breakfast'._ Naruto and Sasuke thought with loudly grumbling stomachs. But Sakura had already tuned out and seemed to be in a deep thought, not worrying about the test's explanations.

_After this, I have to leave Konoha. I need full chakra supplies and must be well rested. Who knows what will happen once I get there. But on the other hand, I must pass this so called 'test' by all means. So, I have to try preserving most of my chakra and if I stick with taijutsu it will tire me out. I will be fighting Copy Nin Hatake Kakashi after all. Hmmm…I will need traps and in confusion I will get the bells. But simple traps would not be enough, I need… _Sakura was deliberating when,suddenly, Naruto took out a kunai and darted in Kakashi's direction.

The Jounin appeared behind Naruto and caught the hand with the kunai and pointed it at the blond's head. Sasuke took a step back, surprised, but Sakura stood and watched calmly.When she was a Genin, she didn't see the Copy nin move. But now, she saw everything like it was in a slow motion. Seeing this, Sakura almost smiled. _Of course, Sasuke and Naruto will be the perfect distractions. They will buy me enough time to set small genjutsus and traps. And they don't have to know about it themselves._

"Don't get so hasty" said Kakashi, still holding the hand with the kunai "I didn't say 'start', yet." He, finally, released Naruto.

_So, this is Jounin…_ Sasuke thought, examining the older shinobi.

"But it looks like you have the will to kill me now" continued Kakashi and chuckled a little "I think I can finally start liking you three." His playful voice turned serious "We're going to start. Ready, start!" he finished with a loud voice. At his command the three disappeared.

_A basic for a shinobi is to conceal his presence and hide_ Kakashi looked and saw Sasuke hidden in a tree but could not see or feel Sakura's presence. It was like she was swallowed by the ground. Also, he couldn't see Naruto. "Good, everyone is hidden nicely" he mumbled but when he looked up, he saw Naruto and the blond was proudly standing up without a disguise.

"Let's have a match fair and square!" Naruto shouted with a big grin on his face.

"Huh?" Kakashi's head dropped. Straightening up he said "Hey, aren't you a little weird compared to the rest?"

"What's weird is your hair style!" retorted Naruto and rushed forward. But stopped when Kakashi put his hand in the pouch.

"Shinobi tactic know-how number one, taijutsu. I'll teach you that first" Kakashi took out an orange book, which made Naruto lose his fighting stance. "What's the matter? Come and get me."

"But, um, um… Why did you take out a book?" the blond questioned.

"Why? I got curious as to how the story is going to develop" answered Kakashi, reading his book "Don't worry about it. It's the same whether I read this or not."

Outraged Naruto attacked Kakashi. "I'm going to pound you" he screamed. He punched and roundhouse kicked but all his attacks were either blocked or avoided. Suddenly, Kakashi disappeared. "Huh?"

"A shinobi should not let the enemy get behind him multiple times, baka" came a voice from behind him. Naruto looked back and saw a crouched Kakashi with hands forming a tora seal. "Hidden village of Konoha's secret taijutsu master art, A Thousand Years of Pain!" And Naruto went flying in the direction of the river.

Sakura was leaning on a tree's trunk with her back, arms crossed and eyes closed. It was the same tree Sasuke was hiding in but he still didn't sense her. She, finally, opened her eyes and turned her head a little, seeing Naruto fall into the water. _Now's the time_ she thought and disappeared at the same time two shurinkens were thrown at Kakashi from the water.

* * *

Five minutes were left before the alarm. Sasuke and Naruto were both tied to the log, while Kakashi was reading the book in front of them. _Out of these two, as expected, Sasuke was more promising. But I still didn't see Sakura, yet. _

As if on cue, ten kunais were thrown at Kakashi. The older shinobi dodged them effortlessly by jumping away. But the ground he was supposed to land on split, making a dark hole. Kakashi barely caught the edge of the hole and threw himself up with his hand before the ground closed, burying him alive.

Kakashi looked around for somebody, only seeing Naruto and Sasuke's shocked expressions but it was directed at something behind him. He looked back and saw Sakura, who was already making seals in a lightning speed.

"Katon, Housenka no Jutsu" she calmly said and spat fireballs from her mouth. _Impossible!_ thought Kakashi dodging the fire and getting closer to the girl.

"Katon, Goukakyuu no Jutsu" Sakura again blew a fire but this time much bigger, pushing her opponent back. Kakashi had no choice but to get serious.

"Suiton, Suiryuudan no Jutsu!" said Kakashi, making seals with inhuman speed. The water from the river that was not far away rose, forming a shape of a dragon, and attacked Sakura.

"Hyouton," said Sakura "Haryuu Mouko." Ice formed from the air, making a shape of a tiger, and attacked the water dragon. The tiger defeated the dragon and disappeared.

_She should not have enough chakra to do this! How did she form an ice!!_ Kakashi was almost ripping out his hair with frustration.

Sakura jumped into the air and threw ten shurikens "Shuriken, Bunshin no Jutsu." The ten shurikens duplicated into nearly a hundred in numbers. Kakashi already knew which were the real ones and dodged them. But he was injured by the others. _What!! They weren't Bunshin?!_ Then he saw the source; shurikens were thrown from the trees, mingling with the Bunshins. _It's similar to the trap Sasuke used but more developed._

Kakashi avoided all of the shurikens using kunais in each hand and jumped to where Sakura was. He tried to catch her but his hand went through the girl. _A Bunshin?_ he questioned _No, it's something more._ His hand formed a tora seal "Kai!"

The scenery didn't change much but few of his cuts and bruises disappeared. He looked to where Sasuke and Naruto were and saw them still tied. But Sakura was standing in front of the boys, looking at him with a smirk on her face and she was holding the two bells. As if on cue, the clock' alarm ringed, indicating twelve o'clock.

"Sakura, very good" praised Kakashi clapping a little at her performance, while walking up to them "You pass." And then his attention turned to the males "However, you two fail!!" Naruto's head dropped down with tears in his eyes and Sasuke growled. "You two should quit being shinobi!" harshly said Kakashi "The point of this test was teamwork! But all you two did was fight individually, assuming that the other two would burden you!"

"But, Kakashi-sensei, Sakura didn't use any cooperation!" said Sasuke with a scowl.

"She did get the bells, didn't she, Sasuke-kun?" tauntingly asked Kakashi, which made Sasuke's scowl worse. Then he turned his attention to the girl "Sakura, you used Naruto and Sasuke as distraction to set the shuriken's positions so perfectly that at first I could only think of it as bunshins. You cast a semi-real genjutsu, so, that I wouldn't notice a difference in surroundings when I got out of the hole. And you used bunshin shurikens, kage shurikens and real shurikens in a genjustu at the same time"

"And in all that confusion, you used a Henge no Jutsu to turn yourself into a weapon and threw yourself at me, purposely missing me. You dropped the Henge and quickly took the bells. I didn't see you because of the genjutsu. Overall, very impressive."

_As expected, he saw through it all._ Thought Sakura, nodding at Kakashi's explanation. The two boy's mouths were open in awe at what Sakura did.

"Look at this" said Kakashi, walking to a big stone "The numerous names carved into this stone. All this names are those praised as heroes in this village."

"I like that! I like that" loudly said Naruto with a big grin "I've decided that I'm going to have my name carved into that! A hero! A hero! I'm not going to die a useless death!"

When he said that, Sakura felt a pang in her heart. _Naruto, I can't promise you that your death wouldn't be useless. I just hope that you made the right choice to send me._

"But their not normal shinobis" continued Kakashi "Those who were K.I.A."

"K.I.A.?" questioned Naruto.

"Those who were killed in action" said Sakura with a bored tone. Naruto felt a shame, his smile disappearing.

"This is a cenotaph. The names of my friends are carved in here as well" explained Kakashi. The three Genins looked at their sensei, feeling a pity for the older shinobi.

"Naruto, Sasuke" the two boys looked at Kakashi "I'll give you another chance, after I set the traps. However, the battle for the bell will be much harsher." The two boys sighed loudly in relief. "Sakura, you can have the bentos but if you feed them, you will immediately fail! A person with a high intelligence and common sense like yourself should understand this more than anybody" he said "I'm the rule here. Got it?" and disappeared.

Sakura opened the bentos and took out two kunais. She threw them at the ropes, holding the boys, and cut them. When they were released she said "Eat the lunch."

"But, Sakura-chan, you will fail!" tried to reason Naruto. Sasuke nodded, agreeing.

"The whole point of this test is teamwork. So, if you want to pass, you should not have your stomachs grumbling loudly and giving away your position later" said Sakura with monotone. The males slowly sat down and took the two bentos.

"Itadakimasu" and the boys started to eat when there was a large puff of smoke.

"You three!!" screamed Kakashi with enraged voice "You three broke the rule. Are you prepared for the punishment?!" He formed hand seals and the sky darkened visibly, even the ground started to shake. "Any last words?"

"But…" started Naruto "But… But… But… You said…!"

"We're a three man team, right" continued Sasuke, his eyes narrowing.

"Sensei, we three are one!" finished Sakura with a cold voice.

"You three are one, eh?" said Kakashi with an equal cold tone. And he suddenly smiled "You pass!" he said happily. The black clouds started to disappear and the sun started to shine on them, showing one shocked Genin.

"Pass! Why?" asked Naruto.

"You three are the first" said Kakashi "People I had previously were blockheads who just listened to what I said. 'Shinobis need to think beyond the normal.' In the world of shinobi, those who break the rules are called scum. But those who don't take care of their friends are even worse than scum." At this Sakura looked at Sasuke with a glint of pure loathing and disgust in her eyes. Kakashi saw that but Naruto was oblivious.

"He's… He's kind of cool" said Naruto with unshed tears of happiness, staring at Kakashi in awe.

"The training ends here" said Kakashi "Everyone passes! The team seven will start doing missions starting tomorrow!"

"I did it! I'm a shinobi, shinobi!" shouted Naruto, jumping up and down "Let's go home!" and he ran with happiness with Sasuke following but without running.

"Sakura, I need to talk to you" said Kakashi, looking at the girl. Only, then he noticed that Sakura's hitai-ate cloth was made of white silk. _That's strange…_ he thought examining it.

"Sensei, I need to speak with you, too" said Sakura and Kakashi nodded for her to continue "I will be gone for three days, so I can't do missions with you guys"

_I wonder what she will be doing. I guess, I'll ask Sarutobi-sama later._ Kakashi nodded at her "Alright."

Sakura disappeared with a puff of smoke, leaving him alone in the clearing. _Tsuki Sakura. The skills you showed today was beyond Chuunins. Like I thought, things from now on will be very interesting. _He looked at the place where Sakura was standing and started to walk with an open book in front of his face.

* * *

"Tsukiko, you can come out" said Sakura, leaping through the trees. The wolf appeared next to her, running very gracefully. "We almost reached one of the clearings outside of Konoha." The wolf nodded.

Soon, they saw a light and when they went in that direction, it turned out to be an open area, filled with flowers. They jumped to the ground, carefully checking the surroundings for danger. Satisfied, Sakura put down her backpack and took out a white scroll from her pouch. She opened the scroll but it was blank.

"Tsukiko, what is the meaning of this?" she asked. The wolf looked at the scroll, sniffing it a little.

"This scroll needs a proof that you are a pureblooded Tsuki" she said. Sakura put down the open scroll on the ground and bit her thumb, drawing blood.

"What should I write?" the girl asked

"Sakura-sama, that is completely up to you" the wolf answered with a knowing look.

Sakura looked at her wolf and slowly wrote down her full name in kanji. When her blood touched the scroll, at first, it turned completely black, then crimson and, finally, just disappeared. A circle appeared, including them, and a white fire started to burn everything in the circle but it didn't touch Sakura and Tsukiko. The fire grew in length, completely covering them, and as fast as it appeared it extinguished. But the girl and the white wolf weren't there anymore.

* * *

Sakura slumped down on a ground, breathing hard. She was in a big room with no windows. Only, candles illuminated the room with a weak light. She looked around, worried, because Tsukiko was nowhere seen. However, she also saw a figure covered with a cloak, leaning on a door at the opposite end of the room. The door seemed to be the only exit. She stood up straight, all her muscles tense for a battle.

"Who are you?" Sakura asked with an unfeeling voice. Her face blank, eyes showing nothing but coldness.

* * *

**_End of chapter 6_**

**AoiShinzo:_ You're right. SasuSaku and NaruSaku are used too many times. But I will still have some SasuSaku or NaruSaku stuff but not that much._**

**blossomheartxoxo:_ Maybe I will make this story ItaSaku, I just love that pairing. Itachi is soooo handsome!!_**

_**I'd like to say "Thank you very much!!" to everybody who reviewed! You guys really encourage me to continue this fiction. **_

_**Well, R&R plz**_


	7. Author Note

**_I am very sorry to say that I can't finish Chapter 7. _**

**_My grandmother came all the way from my country to visit us, so, I will be very busy this few days. But I promise that the next chapter will be finished soon. And I want to thank the people who reviewed, you guys are awesome!!_**

**_-Shinu no Tenshi_**


	8. A Certain Kind of Death

_**Disclaimer:**_ I do not own any of Naruto's characters ( no matter how much I wish)

_**I am very sorry everybody!!! I know you want to kill me but well I was very busy lately and it took me this long to finish this chapter. I really hope you'll like it!!!

* * *

**_

**Chapter 7**

**"A Certain Kind of Death"  
**

_**::Recap::**_

"_Who are you?" Sakura asked with an unfeeling voice. Her face blank, eyes showing nothing but coldness._

_**::End of Recap::**_

Sakura was waiting for an answer but the other person didn't reply. She quickly took out two kunais in each hand and was poised to attack. Suddenly, the cloaked figure chuckled, sending a chill down the girl's spine. The voice itself was masculine and cold, full of unspoken malice, and it held so much power that Sakura had hard time standing near the person's presence.

"Lower your weapons" commanded the figure smoothly.

With a loud clink the two knives fell on the floor. Startled, Sakura looked at her hands and at the weapons lying on the ground, not understanding why her body so easily complied with the order. She took a step back, her eyes narrowing with anger. _What happened just now! Why did my body…? It must be some kind of a genjutsu but I would have noticed it. What is going on here?!_ She screamed in her head and jumped back when the figure slowly took few steps forward and held out his hand, indicating he meant no harm.

"I am neither your enemy" he started, taking another step forward "Nor your ally."

"Hmm?" Sakura very slowly stretched the hidden metal strings from her gloves behind her back and bent her knees a little, ready to spring forward. The figure took another step forward, revealing a very expensive looking black silk cloak in the light.

"I advise you to stop what you're trying to do" the figure said with amusement. Sakura visibly tensed at his words and she glared at him. Suddenly, the figure disappeared. She tried to use that chance to run to the door, when a very cold hand caught both of her wrists in an iron grip behind her back, preventing her to use the strings. Quickly reacting, Sakura jumped and kicked backwards with her right leg. But the stranger's other hand caught her leg, which left the girl standing in a vulnerable position with only one leg to hold her body up. She waited for him to attack before making her move but the figure unexpectedly released her and stepped back. The girl almost lost her balance but quickly straightening up her body, all the while glaring at the person.

"You said you're neither my enemy nor my ally. Explain yourself" Sakura said, while massaging one of her wrists. _This will definitely bruise. …His hands were so cold that my hands were almost … scorched. _Sakura turned back and stared at the cloaked figure with an obvious interest in her eyes. Finally, she relaxed her body but was still a little tense with caution.

Around them, the candle's started to flicker as if an invisible wind was softly blowing the small lights. Shadows danced everywhere and the room became even darker. A gloved hand came out of the cloak and pulled the cloak's hood a little to reveal his face. Sakura took a step back, startled, not expecting him to be so handsome, even beautiful. The person opened his eyes to reveal a very shocking sight. His pupils were completely white and his irises, surrounding the pupil, were crimson red but everything else even his scleras were totally black. It almost seemed like river full of blood was flowing in his eyes. But Sakura concentrated more on his pupils. The color white always meant innocence and pureness but now it looked like the most deadly thing in the world. Everything about his eyes was majestic but lethal.

* * *

Tsukiko woke up in a daze. She unsteadily stood up and shook her head to make the blurriness in her eyes stop. However, it only made it worse and, taking few steps, she clumsily fell down, like a newborn pup trying to walk. Resting a bit on the grass, she again stood up, this time with more care. She walked a little and stopped, feeling her strength coming back. The wolf looked around her surrounding, finding herself in a familiar clearing but something was wrong.

"Sakura-sama?" the wolf called, not expecting a response. Suddenly, she heard two persons coming her way…fast. She ran to the cover of the trees, right before the figures appeared in the clearing. By their smell, both of them were male. One was unnaturally tall with a very long bandaged thing strapped to his averted her attention to the other figure, feeling the power that he was emitting. He was of average height, nothing much out of ordinary but the way he walked and held himself made her wary of him. Both of them wore black cloaks with strange red designs on them, like red clouds with white outlines, another thing she noticed was that they had straw hats hiding their faces with a little bell hanging from the front, dinging softly with their every stride.

"Hey, Itachi-sama" said the taller figure with a rough voice. They stopped walking and the tall man continued "I want a little brake and have a little fun. Besides, we still have a lot of time on our side."

The other figure didn't say anything; he only walked to one of the trees and sat lotus style under its shade. The tall man threw away his straw hat to reveal a face, which seemed like a cross between a human and a shark. He removed the white long thing from his back and held it in front of himself, like a weapon. Now, Tsukiko was really confused. _Just what are they?! _

"Come out" he said with so much bloodlust that his voice was shaking a little. "Don't make me look for you!" The shark faced man was licking his pointy teeth like he could already taste the blood.

Tsukiko slowly walked into the clearing, keeping the other man in her sight. Her ears were pressed flat to her head and she was growling, showing the deadliness of her canines to the world. Her eyes were glaring at the bandaged thing that the shark faced man was pointing at her, deeming it to be a threat.

"See? That wasn't too hard now, was it?" said the shark face with a disgusting laugh that made her feel like ripping her ears out. "This is my sword Samehada. I know that you're a mindless animal" at this the wolf's eye twitched "but I thought that you should know the name of the weapon that will kill you."

"Kisame, make this quick" said or more precisely ordered, she believed the shark man Kisame called him, Itachi.

"Hai, hai" responded Kisame with shrug. "Now" he looked at the unusually big wolf "Let the fun begin." And he lunged at her with a raised sword.

* * *

"A long time ago, even before Shodai Hokage's birth, once lived a man. But I won't tell you his life story, only the time of his last breath. He had to fight an enemy, who wanted his position as a leader. But his enemy used underhanded ways to win, by poison." started the person, walking to one of the walls of the room "Death's underlings came to take the man's soul, but the man's power of will was too much for the mindless creatures. So, the God of Death himself made a deal with the man that if he agreed to give his soul, he will take his enemy's life with him. The man agreed to the deal." the figure traced his hands over something on the wall. "You see, when somebody dies only Death's underlings come to take the soul. But when somebody powerful dies, Death himself comes to the person-"

"I still don't understand what this silly story has to do with my question" pointed out Sakura with slight irritation in her voice. The figure abruptly took his hand away from the wall and spun around to face her. Sakura jumped back a little, when she saw him smirk. Suddenly, something came out and caught her from behind.

"On the contrary my dear, it has everything to do with you" said a voice from behind her. The figure in front of her was gone. _What! He was just standing in front of me! And why the fuck is he _hugging_ me!_ Sakura was gritting her teeth. The man put his chin on top of her head, his hand was around her shoulders and the other was around her waist. If anybody else saw them, they would have thought that the hug was very intimate.

Sakura was shuddering a little because his body like his hands was freezing cold. Her cheeks held a little tint of red but not from the sudden low temperature. She struggled in the man's arms but in return he only tightened his hold on her. Finally, giving up, she gritted through her teeth "Let. Me. Go!"

"Why? When your body responds otherwise" he said with a deep amusement and chuckled a little when the girl went stiff, finally, noticing that her body had relaxed completely in his arms.

By then, Sakura's cheeks were completely red, feeling the vibration of the man's chest when he chuckled. No matter how she tried her body would somehow relax in the man's arms. _This can not get more embarrassing for me!!! I never thought that I would wish for the earth to swallow me whole! _She was brought back from her thoughts when the man disappeared, right after he whispered something in her ear.

Sakura stood dazed for a few moments but snapped back and quickly dashed to the door. Before she reached the exit, all the candles in the room went out, leaving her in darkness. Even without the light she ran in the direction the door had to be. But something pushed her back with a force, making her fall on her back.

* * *

Groaning, Sakura sat up, holding her head, and opened her eyes. _What?!_ She found herself lying on a green grass. Standing up, the girl looked around and saw only tall trees. She couldn't see any cabins or houses which left her with one question. _How did I get here?_ Sakura tried to see if she was in a genjutsu but there was no foreign chakra in her brain. Even the smallest of genjutsus usually left some traces behind. _That means the room and that man was real._

A light breeze passed by her face, reminding her of his soft but cold breath on her ear and his whisper. _Your companion is dying_.

Her eyes widened. _Tsukiko!

* * *

_

Tsukiko dodged an attack and lunged at his throat with her jaws. Suddenly, a fist came at her and punched her head with unnatural force. She flew and crashed into the hard ground, the impact made her roll few times. With a labored breath she tried to stand up on her shacking legs but a white hot pain shot through her body, making her stagger. Thick liquid started to seep into her left eye and she instinctively closed it. From its smell she could tell it was her blood. _This is not possible?! _One _punch should not be able to do this!_

"Ahhh. What's the matter? You shouldn't be tired already. The fun has just begun." He smirked down at her and again lunged at her.

* * *

Sakura ran to the direction she felt the massive chakra being used recklessly, all the while hopping she wasn't too late. _Damn it! How could I have been so stupid to just use the scroll. I should have gathered more information about it from Tsukiko before handling it!_ She saw some light cracking through the trees before her and with a launch she landed in a clearing. What she saw infuriated her to the very core of her being. Tsukiko was sprawled on the ground with a pool of blood surrounding her. And to Sakura's shock, above her wolf stood disgustingly familiar figure of Hoshigaki Kisame, who had his sword raised to attack.

In a split second, she stretched the metal strings from her gloves and attached it to three kunais. When Samehada finally came down, Sakura threw the knives and with a careful manipulation she wrapped the strings around the sword. Startled, Kisame looked up only to have his sword ripped away from his arms. Using the strings, Sakura span the massive weapon around herself in one wide arch and with force she threw the sword back at the tall man.

Kisame was too shocked at what happened that he didn't have the time to dodge his weapon. Samehada came straight at him and hit him squarely in his chest; the blow sent him flying to the tree behind him, which broke under the pressure. He groaned and stood up, grasping the hilt of the sword, suddenly, a punch came at his face. Dodging it, Kisame looked at his attacker and his eyes widened considerably. _A little girl ... The fuck!!!_

Sakura quickly took out few kunais and threw it at him, expecting him to dodge it. Kisame jumped away and before he could land the girl appeared right in front of his face with a drawn back fist. He effectively maneuvered his sword around and slashed her in half with a satisfied smirk, but it quickly disappeared when the girl's body poofed out of existence. Because of the distraction he didn't see the thin chakra wires, wrapping itself around him. When he finally noticed, it was too late. The wires suddenly tightened their hold and suspended him in the air, forcefully spreading out his arms and legs, making him drop his weapon.

Kisame looked around and saw the wires, which were wrapped around the branches of trees that held him up. He cursed profusely when one of the wires went around his throat and started to slowly choke him. Sakura appeared on the ground in a crouching position with one of her legs spread out. Her arms were crossed with all the wires connected to her gloves. One of her fingers flexed and the string of curses ended with choking sounds, which made her smirk.

Suddenly, she felt a presence behind. Her head turned around and saw a man with raven black hair and crimson eyes. Before her eyes could even widen with shock, the man cut away all the metal string, connected to her gloves. _Fast…really fast._ Cursing herself for not noticing him earlier, she jumped away, throwing few kunais at him. He easily deflected the weapons, his eyes still fixed on her like a predator.

All of it happened while Kisame was still falling. He finally touched the ground and got rid of the wires, picking up the Samehada and putting it on his shoulder.

"Tch, I got outsmarted by a little brat" he said, touching his throat and wincing a little. "Bitch, now you will see why you shouldn't have messed with me". He took a step forward but stopped when Itachi turned his head slightly and looked at him from the corner of his eye. Kisame frowned a little and looked at Sakura, who was in fighting stance at the other end of the clearing. "I see" was all he muttered before turning away and disappearing among the trees.

Sakura's eyes narrowed with suspicion and she took out her last kunai in her hand, twirling it on her forefinger, while her other hand slowly reached for her supply of shurikens. He was just standing there and looking at her with indifferent gaze, which infuriated her. With a twist of her wrist five shurikens were sent spinning at him.

"Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu" she whispered and the five shurikens turned to hundreds, all aiming at different places, blocking the man's escape routes. But he didn't even move and was shredded to pieces, which confused her. But she wasn't surprised when it all suddenly turned to ravens. Sakura looked at them and her lips twisted into a smirk.

Itachi was looking at the girl under his genjutsu with boredom and with a small wave of his hand quickly shot senbons at the five clones attacking him from behind. All of them disappeared with a poof. He was slightly surprised that the girl managed to turn her kage bunshins into shurikens before throwing them at him. Suddenly, a fist came through earth underneath him, aiming at his jaw, but he caught the wrist and with his other hand he snapped the girl's throat easily. But unfortunately for him, it was only a clone.

When he looked back at the girl, she was still standing there, eyes glazed over from genjutsu. He lazily walked over to her, inspecting her appearance, taking notice of her hair and eye color. Lifting his hand, he took the kunai from her hand and quickly stabbed her in the stomach. Blood spurted from the wound, covering his hand, and when he let go of the kunai the illusion dispersed.

Itachi felt the thin metal strings tightening its hold on him, cutting through his garments into his skin. The girl appeared behind him, holding the end of the metal chakra strings.

"Uchiha Itachi. The renowned S-class rogue-nin and the member of the criminal organization Akatsuki. I am surprised that I managed to catch-" Sakura closed her eyes, trying to sense something "your Shadow Clone!" She quickly tightened her hold and tore the bunshin up.

As fast as she could, Sakura jumped away from her spot just as the clone exploded, sending her into the air. She flipped and gracefully landed on her feet but her eyes widened considerably when she felt something cold touch her throat. _Shit. He is playing with me!_ She jabbed her elbow into her opponent's stomach and the clone disappeared. _At this rate, I will die. Tch … I will have to try harder. _

She looked at Tsukiko, who was lying in her own blood far from her. Clenching her fist, Sakura tried to relax her body and mind. Her muscles loosened up and her senses stretched to pick up everything in her surrounding. Reaching into her pouch she took out two shurikens and threw one into the trees and immediately after she threw the other one. The second shuriken hit the first at a certain angle, which made it change its direction.

Sakura saw a dark shadow jump away from a tree and instantly she leaped at him. She threw her fist but he caught her wrist and tossed her away. Spinning in the air, she touched the side of a tree with her feet and swiftly pushed herself back in his direction. He landed on a branch and promptly side stepped to avoid her.

Sakura landed on the branch next to him and came at him with a kick. Itachi caught her ankle but she twisted her body in the air and tried to kick him with her other leg. He let her go and dodged the kick and tried to punch her while she still was in the air. Sakura caught his fist and absorbed the blow into her body, while also trying to twist the arm. But he ripped his arm away from her and sent a round house kick, which she dodged easily. Taking advantage she tried to trip him by kicking away the leg holding him up but he jumped up and brought down his leg onto her.

Sakura leaped away from the branch, which soon broke from the pressure of Itachi's kick. The dark haired man immediately dived after her, getting close enough to knee her in the stomach. Not having been prepared for that, Sakura fell heavily on the ground, breaking few of her ribs in the process. Using her arms she leaped away as the kunais stabbed the ground she was on moments before. Landing on her feet, she started to cough violently and cursed herself when she saw blood on her hands, knowing that it meant her lungs were pierced with her ribs.

Standing shakily on her legs, Sakura ran at the man who appeared in her sight. Throwing all her left over shurikens at him, she performed a seal and two Kage Bunshins appeared next to her. Three of them surrounded him and attacked simultaneously, using different techniques, but Itachi dodged or blocked them all perfectly. Her lungs were screaming at her from pain and she leaped backwards few times, letting her clones deal with him.

"Bunshin Bakuha!" Gathering large amount of chakra, she shouted and her clones exploded with him between them. Legs shaking, Sakura fell and dug one knee into the ground to hold herself up while breathing heavily. She sighed with relief but started to cough again with good amount of blood coming out of her mouth.

Suddenly, she felt a presence behind her and her whole body shook, knowing who it was. She slightly turned her head and saw him standing behind her with the same expressionless crimson eyes, which bored into her. With his hand he tightly grasped her neck and lifted her up, choking her in the process. She could do little, having used up last amount of her chakra for the big explosion.

He continued to choke her, seemingly having some perverse pleasure of seeing her like that, weak and at his mercy, and she hated him for it. All she could see from the corners of her eyes were his bloody eyes and his shadowy figure. She started to see black dots, indicating her brains lack of oxygen. Finally, he moved after what seemed like hours. He took out a kunai very lazily from his pouch and stabbed her back with lightning speed. It missed her heart but barely and she knew he knew it.

Strangely, she found a sick pleasurable irony of how paradoxical he was. She could feel, even _hear_ her heartbeat slow down as her life blood flowed out of her body. She snorted at how artistic she was at her death's doorsteps. Itachi finally released her and she fell on the ground in a heap. And he just turned around and started to walk away as if nothing happened.

"Bastard…" was the only thing she could muster silently but he stopped in his tracks and turned slightly towards her. "Kunoichi" was all he said before resuming his path and disappearing among the trees. She wanted to scream at him, curse him but all she did in the end was smile a little with a twist of her lips. Again she admired how paradoxical he was. In the fight, he didn't take her very seriously, seemingly treating her like an inexperienced child. But when he said her title, she chuckled a little no matter how much it hurt her, he had acknowledged her as a female shinobi, giving her respect, which only meant that she had satisfied his thirst for a challenging battle.

"Tch … what a … bastard …" she whispered with an ironic smile on her face before she started to slowly crawl towards her wolf. It seemed like eternity since she could only use her right arm and finally she reached her companion, leaving behind herself a bloody trail. She somehow managed to put her head on the furry back, while stroking her animal's once pristine white coat, now covered in blood and dirt. Her body was already numb from pain and she could feel her consciousness slipping away, lulling her into an eternally peaceful sleep. But before she could close her eyes, she saw the strangest thing. Black long feathers were slowly falling from the sky, like the soft snows in the winter.

Falling

Falling

Falling around her.

* * *

**_End of Chapter 7_**

_**Shodai Hokage is the first Hokage**_

_**Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu is the Shuriken Shadow clone technique**_

_**Bunshin Bakuha is the Shadow Clone Explosion  
**_

**_Well what do you think guys. Was it satisfactory? I tried hard on this chapter so R&R please ^^  
_**


	9. Forbidden Lands

**_Disclaimer: _**I do not own any Naruto characters ( T_T )

**_Hey, everybody!!! I had successfully finished another chapter and I am very grateful for the people who reviewed. You had helped me finish this! So Read and most of all Enjoy!

* * *

_Chapter 8**

**"Forbidden Lands"  
**

_**::Recap::**_

_Her body was already numb from pain and she could feel her consciousness slipping away, lulling her into an eternally peaceful sleep. But before she could close her eyes, she saw the strangest thing. Black long feathers were slowly falling from the sky, like the soft snows in the winter._

_Falling_

_Falling_

_Falling around her._

_**::End of Recap::**_

Suddenly, the kunai was wrenched from her back very forcefully and Sakura could only whimper a little, not even having the energy to scream. Then, somehow, her nerves started to get stronger, sending signals to her brain about the pain. Sakura hissed when her whole body begun to feel like it was slowly burning up, making her bite her lower lip, which drew blood.

"Now, now, dear" somebody said behind her "Don't inflict on yourself unnecessary pain." Sakura's eyes slightly narrowed because she had already heard the voice before. She was trying to find out who was helping her when hands reached out and started to turn her around, making her lie on her back on the hard ground. White hot pain shot throughout her whole body and she cursed louder than she intended to. There was an amused chuckle above her and with a jolt Sakura looked up to her savior, knowing who it was.

"…you…" she whispered with a hoarse voice but soon she started to cough, spilling blood on the ground. She saw a hand reaching out to her and Sakura tried to turn away but he stopped her by grasping her chin with such softness that surprised her. Sakura looked at him and saw the same strange but beautiful eyes boring into her. His thumb on her chin gently started to wipe away the drying blood from her lips and cheek. Then he let go of her face and brought the finger to his mouth. Before her very eyes, he started to taste the excessive red liquid.

"Just as I thought…" he said, more likely to himself than her. "You remember the tale I told you?" Without thinking Sakura nodded at him. Seemingly satisfied he continued "When Death takes away the life of people, who were not meant to die yet, he upsets the balance of Life and Death, of Yin and Yang" he paused a bit and looked straight into her eyes, as if looking for something. "So, after the Shinigami had taken away the life of the man's enemy, he had to give back to Life something precious to him. And you, my dear, are very precious to me." Shocked, Sakura opened her mouth to say something but closed it again. _He…he…is the God of…Death!!!_

"You were supposed to die in the future from which you came from and Life was supposed to resurrect you and make sure you lived till old age" Sakura looked at the man who was kneeling beside her with mixed emotions in her eyes. "But here you are, breaking rules of balance and harmony" he laughed out loud "and I couldn't be any prouder of you, my little angel." He stood up and started to walk away.

"Why?" she questioned with some difficulty, her voice still a little hoarse but getting better. More so, she could feel her body gaining back strength and chakra, which made her sigh with a contented satisfaction but she was irritated because the man was confusing her too much and it confounded her.

The man stopped walking but he didn't turn around to face her. "The answers to that question you have to find yourself." Sakura scowled because she knew by his tone that he was smirking. She sat up with some difficulty and stayed there without moving and finally turned her head to look at her companion with a strange glint in her eyes. "Your wolf will be fine so do not blame yourself for what happened" the man suddenly said, startling her a little "but I want you to do something." Sakura sighed with frustration and agreed. "Do not come here ever again. You will find nothing of importance in the place you used to call home."

And with that the man disappeared with a burst of black feathers, which soon also disappeared. However, Sakura managed to see the lock of his long hair and it was completely unexpected because the color was white like the pupils of his eyes. _…White like my hair._ She sighed with frustration because now he left her with even more questions. She snapped out of her thoughts when there was a sudden movement next to her. Sakura turned and saw a white wolf trying to stand up.

"Tsukiko…" she sighed with relief but soon scowled. _I am sighing too much, it can't be a good sign._ She sighed again. _Yep, definitely not a good sign._ Her wolf turned to look at her and immediately pounced on her, while also licking and rubbing her master's cheek with her snout very affectionately. Sakura sighed again because now her face was covered with drool. _I guess that's what happens when somebody had brushed with death but in my case brushed very closely with the God of Death. _She thought wryly.

"Master, I am so happy that you are alright! I thought that we surely were going to die!" Tsukiko said very happily but she quieted down when she saw the expression on her master's face. Coming to her own conclusions she spoke. "Master, I seek your pardon for not being able to protect you adequately from those men. But I promise that I will get stronger so that next time something like this does not happen again-" Tsukiko stopped because her master suddenly burst into a humorlessly laugh with her right hand covering her eyes. Her heart twisted in her chest from hearing the coldness of the sound.

Sakura just couldn't stop laughing because her wolf reminded her so much of the Naruto she knew. "Tsukiko" all of a sudden, she said, her voice sharp like a knife "I neither have any use for a protector who tries to save me from smallest of dangers nor I have use for a slave who follows me around blindly." But then her tone considerably softened "Tsukiko…what I need is a partner, a teammate on whom I could rely on, a companion who voices their own opinions in decisions." Sakura took away the hand covering her eyes and looked straight at her wolf with an intense gaze.

The wolf nodded understanding what her master wanted. But, suddenly, a question popped in her mind. "Sakura-sama, what happened to those men in black and red cloaks?" She saw her master tense a bit and became even more curious but she didn't ask again when there wasn't a reply.

Sakura stood up slowly, stretching her hands and legs to test them. Everything was healthy, no pains in her back and chest, no broken ribs to poke her lungs, no kunais stuck in her body. Realizing something, she unzipped her top to reveal a black fabric that clung to her chest and a fishnet which went around her stomach very snuggly. When she inspected her top, as expected, there was a hole on its back with a dried up blood around it, luckily nobody would see it without checking it closely. So, she put it back on.

"Tsukiko, come. I left my pack somewhere and we need to find it" she said going to the direction she first came from. She found the backpack thanks to her wolf's sense of smell and they spent few hours resting and eating what she had brought. By then the sun was already setting and they started to head towards the direction, which Sakura hoped led to some village.

"Sakura-sama, didn't you want to go to the place of your birth" Tsukiko questioned, noticing that they were going in direction different from their destination. They both stopped walking and Sakura turned her head to look at her wolf with a grin.

"I had too much strangeness for one day" she said and resumed walking leaving behind a very confused wolf. Suddenly, they heard a scream not far away from them. Both of them sprinted to the place it had come from to find a woman maybe in her thirties surrounded by four men, who were most likely bandits. They all turned to look at the two of them with a surprise showing on their faces.

"Well, lookie here boys. We're very lucky today, a woman and a pretty little girl with a dog" they all laughed and one of them knocked down the woman who fell unconscious on the ground. They started to approach her slowly, obviously thinking her to be an easy challenge. _Are they stupid? Don't they see my hitai-ate? Tch, idiots._ Sakura thought before lazily getting out the extra supply of kunai she had in her pack. Now, the men stopped uneasy seeing the said little girl with a knife.

"Brat, put down that weapon before you hurt yourself" said the same person, most likely their leader. Sakura gazed at the men and they became really uncomfortable because to them her eyes looked like sharp daggers. "Boys, teach her a lesson!" And all four of them attacked her but in few seconds later they lay dead on the forest floor. _That was too easy._

Tsukiko was already at the unconscious woman's side, licking her face to wake her up. Sakura quickly burned away the bodies, leaving behind no trace and looked at the woman, who slowly opened her eyes. She shrieked and jerkily moved backwards to the tree behind her till it touched her back. Her eyes were wide like a hunted dear's and she was looking at the wolf with fear. Sakura sighed and walked up to her wolf and stood next to her. The woman's frightened eyes turned to her and slightly relaxed.

"I-is it yours?" she asked but she soon started to fidget under the girl's stare. Sakura finally nodded and the woman slumped down on the ground, visibly exhausted. "What happened to those bandits?" Sakura opened her mouth to answer but Tsukiko interrupted her.

"Sakura-sama, tell her that they lost interest and left" the wolf said. Sakura looked at the wolf questioningly. "Trust me on this, master" she said with a serious tone. The girl shrugged and gave the woman the lie.

"Then we are very lucky" the woman said and finally coming to her senses she noticed something. "Child, what are you doing in the forest at dusk? Your parents must be very worried. Quickly, lets head back to village before sun completely sets." The woman got up and dusted herself a little. Sakura tried to correct the adult but her wolf silenced her with a look. Sighing again, she instead helped the woman gather her belongings. "Thank you, child. By the way, my name is Kita Atsuko but you can call me Atsuko."

"Alright, Atsuko-san. And my name is … Sakura" she said without using her family name. Atsuko grinned at the girl and they started to walk in the direction of the village. On the way, Atsuko told her all about her family about her husband, Akio, and her twins, Daichi and Hikari. Sakura just listened and nodded and told the woman very vaguely about herself but she didn't say anything about her village and shinobis, which Tsukiko insisted on but didn't tell her the reason why.

Finally, they arrived at the small village and Atsuko invited them to stay at her house, when she heard that Sakura's parents were far away, which was the truth. Sakura accepted it gratefully and they headed to her house. On the way, she received many stares from the people and she became a little self-conscious. But when she looked at her wolf, Tsukiko was uncharacteristically quiet, only looking straight, not paying attention to the people who looked at her with fear. They soon arrived at a tradition house but there was a sudden yell from the inside of it and two people ran to greet Atsuko.

"Okaa-san! You're back!" a boy and girl, no older than Sakura, yelled and hugged their mother. They were kissing each other on the cheeks and repeatedly saying how they missed each other and how they were worried. Sakura started to get sick from watching two people her age acting like small children. Then a third person came out of the house, this time a male, who had a relieved smile on his face.

"Koi, I was starting to get worried" he said and they hugged each other with tenderness that made Sakura's eyes soften a little. "Okaerinasai" he said and when they let go of each other, he finally noticed her and the animal. "And who might you're guest be?" The two children also noticed her but immediately looked at the wolf standing next to the girl.

"This is Sakura. We found each other in the forest after bandits almost attacked us but we were lucky" Atsuko said with a smile "I invited her to stay with us because she has no other place to go." Her husband nodded and told them to come in and eat dinner.

"Sakura-chan, I am sorry but your dog has to stay outside" said the man and the two kids started to snicker behind him.

"Otou-san, that's not an inu, it is an ookami" the boy said. The man looked startled and stared at Sakura with wide eyes. "An ookami?" he repeated "Well, then…you can…bring it…inside" He said little unsure of himself. Sakura sighed and nodded, not really understanding what the big deal was.

The house itself was not small but it wasn't big, just normal size for family of four. The inside wasn't really decorative much but it had homely feel to it. The table for dinner was a traditional one with five cushions surrounding it. Sakura waited for all of them to be seated before she sat on the spare cushion. Tsukiko lied down behind her, making the adult male a little uncomfortable. But the dinner was a quiet one with occasional compliments on how delicious it was. But soon it was interrupted by the girl.

"You have strange eyes and hair" she commented looking at Sakura.

"Hikari! I am very sorry for my daughter's rudeness, Sakura-chan, she is a little outspoken" Atsuko said sounding ashamed. But Hikari only huffed.

"But okaa-san, look at her clothes, it looks so indecent" said the male child with a scoff. Then Sakura noticed something she should have discerned earlier. All the villagers had had either dull brown or plain black hair and their eyes were all ordinary dark brown without any exotic colors. And the family she was dining with all had simple yakatas, covering much of their skin.

"Daichi! Hikari! Who taught you two to be so rude to our guests, she is the same age as you! So be nice to her!" sternly said Atsuko, clearly disappointed with her children. It was obvious that the twins wouldn't listen to their mother. Sakura and Tsukiko were inwardly amused with the whole thing and Sakura was careful to not show it on her face. Then the girl turned to ask Sakura something.

"Did you come from the Forbidden Lands?" Hikari questioned eagerly and Daichi also paid attention to her answer.

"Forbidden…lands?" Sakura was confused on what they meant. Tsukiko suddenly started to pay attention to the conversation.

"Hikari! Daichi! Go to your rooms now, I will punish you later!" said Akio, Atsuko's husband. The two children grumbled about how unfair their parents were when they were only asking questions.

"Sakura-chan, I am very sorry about their behaviors. They were only curious because our village usually doesn't have many visitors, especially a person with a wolf for a pet" explained Atsuko and Sakura nodded in understanding. "Speaking about wolves, how did you manage to get an ookami, a big one like this" she asked.

"Uh…my family gave her to me." _Which is practically true._ She thought and quickly faked a yawn.

"Oh, my dear, you must very tired. Let's go to the quest's room and let me prepare your bed" said Atsuko. Sakura thanked her and followed her to the room, in which she would stay. "I will draw you a bath" and with that she left. She left her pack on the floor and ordered Tsukiko to stay there. Sakura followed the sound of water and found the bath with a simple but beautiful white yakata lying next to it. Shedding her clothes she stepped into the water and almost purred with satisfaction. She washed away the dried blood and dirt from her body and quickly rinsed her hair, while putting the rope which tied her hair on the yakata. After that, she dried herself with the towel she found and was done putting on the yakata when the shoji door opened.

"Oh dear, you're even more beautiful than I thought and I see my childhood clothes fit you" said Atsuko with a satisfied smile. "Let me wash your old clothes" and she started to gather the outfit strewn on the floor. Sakura quickly took away the pouches, in which her weapons were, and her white hitai-ate before Atsuko could pick them up. The woman only shrugged at her strange behavior.

* * *

"Tsukiko." The wolf jumped when she heard her name and looked at her master. "Start explaining on what is going on." Sakura entered the room and sat on her bed cross legged. The wolf only sighed and shook her head.

"I didn't tell you something because I thought it would be irrelevant but I was wrong" Tsukiko started "The Tsuki clan lived at the very outskirt of the shinobi world and the lands beyond were insignificant to the Great Nations. This people know nothing of our world and they call it the Forbidden Lands, a place on which they would never dare step a foot in. They fear us greatly because of the demons and wild animals that roam our lands and they don't know how to use chakra, well, they don't even know what chakra is. And we seem to have found a village, which is at the outskirt of their world" finished Tsukiko with her summary. Sakura only sighed with irritation while falling backwards on her bed and looking at the sealing.

"How am I going to get back before the Test when I am in a different world" she said to herself. _I am so screwed._ Suddenly, Tsukiko put the scroll Sarutobi gave Sakura on the bed. The girl picked it up and opened it. Her eyes widened a bit and a genuine smile blossomed on her face. "That old man truly is wise" she said and got into the bed to sleep with the wolf at her side.

The scroll read:

_Tsuki Sakura_

_Rank: Genin_

…………

_Time of return: Indefinite

* * *

_

**_End of Chapter 8_**

**_Hitai-ate - forehead protector_**

**_Koi - love_**

**_Inu - dog_**

**_Ookami- wolf_**

**_Shinigami - Death God_**

**_Well how was this chapter? Good? Bad? Tell me and don't forget to review ^_^  
_**


End file.
